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^ THIS BOOK CONTAINS H 

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AN ACCURATE ACCOUNT 



—OP THE- 



I Capital Crimes Committed In the County of Mimer, | 

From the Year 1783 up to the Present Time. 



AMONG those of recent date are 

Wme Wism&sr M&mbm8 9 I 

TMB MlBB&BYML&B &M&6EBT. (L 



The Facts were Gathered prom the Official Records W 
of Herkimer County, and other Reliable Sources, k 

s 

BY THE AUTHOR, 2 

OT. H. TIPPETTS. 



HERKIMEK, N. Y. : 

H. P. WITHERSTINE •£ CO., STEAM BOOK AND JOB PRINTERS. 

1885. 



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Entered according V in the year 1885, by W. H. Tippetts, in "the 

Ofh \of Congress, at Washington. 



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THE PUBLIC 



In presenting this little work to the people of Herkipaer County, 
the author desires to make a few explanatory remarks. 

The record of murders as published in the following pages, is as 
near as possible, correct. Owing to the destruction of the Clerk's 
office by fire in 1804, when all county records were destroyed, it be- 
comes impossible to give any accurate account of the capital crimes 
committed before that date. Since the year 1804, and in the earlier 
portions of the century, the Oyer and Terminer court minutes, and 
the hundi-eds of criminal indictments filed in the County Clerk's 
office, are our only source of record. These have been carefully scan- 
ned and each point fully established before publishing. I have en- 
deavored to be accurate in regard to data, and have confined myself 
wholly to facts. 

The details of many of the earlier crimes, are lost in the misty 
obscurity of frontier history. The only one of which I find any 
record is the supposed murder of an Indian, by that old revolution- 
ary veteran, John Adam Hartman, in the year 1783 or '84. From 
that time until 1805 no record exists, and even in the succeeding 
years, the records are meager iu regard to details. Before pro- 
ceeding farther, the reader will pardon me for giving a few historical 
points in regard to the old county of Herkimer. 

Herkimer county was formed from Montgomery February 16, 1791. 
The name, according to an old authority, was originally Erghemar, 
and was variously written for many years. Onondaga county was 
taken from it March 5th, 1794, and Hamilton March 15th, 1798. The 
north line was completed by the formation of St. Lawrence March 3rd, 
1802, and the present outline fixed on April 7th, 1817. The county 
contains 1,745 square miles, and is considered to be the fifth in point 
of size in the State. Herkimer county is one of the most picturesque 
counties in New York, and contains within its borders a large tract 
of the famous hunting grounds of the North Woods. 

The county was first settled by the Palatinates from Germany, 
in the year 1722. During the " French and Indian : ' war of 1756-7, 
the Palatine village — now Herkimer — was twice destroyed by the 



2 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



Indians, and many of the settlers killed. In the years immediately 
following, and during the stormy days of the revolution, murders 
and massacres were of frequent occurrence, and life held of but little 
value down to the years bordering on the present century. 

Herkimer county, to-day, ranks among the foremost counties of 
the State, in wealth, culture, industries, and, as this book testifies, 
capital crimes. Although a number have been sentenced to swing, 
the records of Herkimer would seem to prove that no one has as yet 
undergone the extreme penalty of the law. Prom reliable sources 
that cannot be gainsayed, I am furnished with information that leads 
me to discredit the old saying "That no murderer was ever hung in 
Herkimer county." The statements are, in a measure, traditional, 
but to my judgment they bear the insignia of truth. During the 
present century, however, the sheriff has never been called upon to 
exercise his chief functions. 

In view of the fact that nine persons are now awaiting the con- 
vening of the next " Oyer and Terminer court" in this county, and 
that they are all, either charged with murder or as accessories, I will 
not argue the question whether or not an execution would prove 
conducive to a better state of affairs. This book is not published for 
the purpose of moulding public opinion — that to my mind is already 
formed, — but for the sole purpose of placing before the public a com- 
plete and accurate account of the many different murders that have 
taken place in this county. 

Before bidding you farewell, I would state that in my search for 
information, I have met with nothing but the most courteous treat- 
ment from our present county officials, and also many others ap- 
proached upon the subject. 

My acknowledgments are due to County Clerk Palmer M. Wood, 
Special Deputy, A. T. Smith, District Attorney A. B. Steele, Sheriff 
Brown, the Hon. Samuel Earl, Judge T. C. Murray, Col. J. A. Suiter, 
Coroner Nellis, and the proprietors of the Herkimer Democrat and 
Ilion Citizen, for the use of their Files for reference. 

Hoping that this little work may be kindly received by the public, 
I remain, yours faithfully, 

W. H. TIPPETTS. 



HEKKIMEE COUNTY MURDERS. 

— «$^ ►-••-< 7m>— 

JOHN ADAM HARTMAN AND THE INDIAN. 

John Adam Hartman was one of the earliest settlers in the 
county of Herkimer, and was known throughout the surrunding sec- 
tion as a hunter and scout of no mean ability. He was born in 
Edenkoben, Germany, and emigrated to this country before the out- 
break of the revolutionary war. The war of Independence found 
him a firm partizan of the colonies, and he served throughout the 
seven years of its duration [with credit to himself and terror to his 
enemies. 

Soon after the peace of 1783, Hartman fell in company with an 
Indian, at a tavern in the west portion of what is now known as the 
town of Herkimer. The fire water of that day ivas of a potent na- 
ture, and as the son of the| woods imbibed the fluid lightning, his 
tongue became loosened, and he commenced to boast of exploits and 
murders committed during the past war. To his inebriate mind no 
braver Indian everjwore a moccasin. He was a Big Chief, and would 
brook no contradiction. Hartman listened to all this with apparent 
good will and continued to ply the red man with whiskey. 

The Indian finally became somewhat excited, and in a spirit of 
bravado, produced a tobacco pouch as a trophy. The article was 
made of the skin taken from a white child's arm, and tanned or 
dressed with the fingers, nails and thumb still attached. Ilartman's 
blood boiled, and he became fired with a resolution that, drunk or 
sober, that Indian should not boast of his evil deeds much longer. 
He inquired which way he was going, and stated that their road lay 
together. They left the hotel in company, and took a path leading 
through a swamp towards Schuyler. 

As Hartman was unarmed, and the Indian carried a heavy pack, 
besides his weapons, he offered to carry the red man's rifle. The 
Indian willingly embraced Hartman's offer and they disappeared 
ju the underbrush bordering on the swamp. 

That Indian was never seen again alive. 

When Hartman was asked, shortly afterwards as to his where- 
abouts, he replied : i; that the last he saw of him he wan standing on 
a log in the swamp, and suddenly fell off as though he was hurt ! 
About one year afterwards the body was found near a log, embedded 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



in the morass, and near by, his rifle, pack and other weapons forced 
down in the mire, showing conclusively that plunder was not the 
object of the murder. Hartman was arrested and tried at Johns- 
town, the then county seat of Tryon county, and acquitted. 

In after years during conversation relative to the affair he would 
■distinctly and minutely describe the tobacco pouch, and indulge in 
sundry hints in regard to the Indian's very mysterious death. Hart- 
man survived the revolution more than fifty-three years, and finally 
died at Herkimer April 6th, 1836, aged 92 years and 7 months. He 
is buried in the cemetery attached to the Dutch Reformed church, 
on Main street, in the same village, where his head stone may yet be 
seen by the curious. This murder, if murder it can be called, may 
be classed among justifiable homicides, as the red devil richly mer- 
ited the fate fortune bestowed upon him. 

THE FIRST MURDER AFTER THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 

COUNTY. 

The story of the following murder is wholly traditional, but ac- 
cording to the best authorities, explicit reliance may be placed upon 
the statement. The woman's name is unknown, but the facts as 
gathered by the writer are substantially as follows : 

Between the years 1791 and 1798, a woman was tried in this 
county for the murder of her husband, and sentenced to death. The 
sentence of the court was carried out, and the murderess duly exe- 
cuted according to law. 

After the execution a number of medical students obtained pos- 
session of the body, and during the succeeding night carried it to a 
small island in the West Canada creek. Previous to this a large 
cauldron, or kettle, had been taken to the island. This was filled 
with water, a fire started underneath, and as soon as the Avater 
reached a boiling temperature pieces of the body thrown therein. 
The students kept the fire burning until the flesh was completely 
separated from the bones. These were carefully fished out of the 
"devil's broth," cleaned, polished and the skeleton put together. 
Ohl citizens state that the skeleton remained in possession of the 
students for many years, but was finally broken up and destroyed. 

THE PRESENT CENTURY. 

Previous to the year 1805 — as before stated— no authentic record 
of trials for murder exist. The County Clerk's office was totally de- 
stroyed by fire in 1804, and, as far as known, all county papers and 
books destroyed also. In consequence of the primitive methods en 
vogue during the earlier portion of the present century, the crim- 
inal history of Herkimer county is hard to trace. The Oyer and 
Terminer court minutes, with a few scattered indictments, are our on- 
ly sources of information. The court minutes of 1805 give us the first 
recorded murder trial. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



RUFUS D. STEVENS. 

On Wednesday, June 19th, 1805, Rufus D. Stevens, a resident of 
this county, was tried at an Oyer and Terminer court for the crime 
of manslaughter. Chief Justice Kent presided, with Nathan Will- 
iams as District Attornej-. The jury found the prisoner not guilty 
of the crime. 

NICHOLAS HILTZ. 

The next case that appears on record is that of Nicholas Hiltz, 
who was tried for the crime of manslaughter on Wednesday, June 
24th, 1807, before Chief Justice Van Ness, Nathan Williams, District 
Attorney. The prisoner pleaded not guilty, a verdict of the same 
being returned by the jury. 

AARON R. CLARK. 

The first conviction occurred June 6th, 1811. On Wednesday, 
May 31st, 1809, Aaron R. Clark was indicted for murder, and brought 
before Justice Yates, Nathan Williams, district attorney. The case 
was continued until the next term of court, the prisoner in the 
mean time, being let out on bail of $1,000. At the next term, Clark 
could not be found, but was finally secured, and the case came up 
for trial June 6, 1811. He was convicted of manslaughter, and sen- 
tenced to State prison for three years and three months. The prison 
of the State was then located in or near New York city, and all crim- 
inals sentenced in the State were accordingly taken to the Metropolis 
for confinement. 

JOSEPH LINCOLN, WILLIAM AYERS AND JOHN WOOD. 

On June 5th 1811, before Justice Van Ness, Nathan Williams, 
district attorney, Joseph Lincoln, William Ayers and John Wood 
were tried for manslaughter and acquitted. The court discharged 
the jury without their returning a verdict. 

JOHN BOWMAN, A BOY TEN YEARS OF AGE, TRIED FOR 
MURDER AND SENTENCED TO DEATH. 

September 14th, 1812, John Bowman, a lad of about ten years of 
age was tried for murder, found guilty and sentenced to be hung on 
the fourth day of December. The boy was ably defended by Daniel 
Cady, Esq., one of the best lawyers and jurists in the circuit. Na- 
than Williams was district attorney and conducted the case for the 
people. 

At that period the pardoning power was vested in the Legisla- 
ture, instead of in the chief executive of the State, as at present. 
The counsel for the defense, Mr. Cady, seconded by other able law- 
yers, succeeded in securing the passage of an act on November 10th, 
1812, commuting Bowman's sentence to imprisonment for life. The 
crime for which the boy was tried and found guilty, was the killing 
of a playmate, a little girl of about his own age. He struck her on 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



the head several times with a club, and then dragged the body into 
the Mohawk river, afterwards covering it with brush. Bowman, 
before his trial, was confined in the old county jail, and one day, to 
the great surprise of the jailer and sheriff, he turned up missing. A 
search was instituted, but Bowman was nowhere to be found. In 
the course of a few hours, however, he nonchalantly entered the 
front door, and when questioned about his absence, replied, " that 
he was tired of the jail and simply went out to take a walk." 

Bowman, when the crime was committed, was between nine and 
ten years of age, and at the time of his sentence could not have been 
much over ten. He was taken from Herkimer to l?Tew York city to 
serve out his sentence. The Hon. Samuel Earl informed the writer 
that. he has made every effort to gain a knowledge of Bowman's fate, 
but was only able to learn that he was an inmate of the prison on 
Blackwell's island as late as 1820. Since that date nothing is known 
of his whereabouts. 

SAMUEL BENNET AND PETER JOHNSON. 

The case of Samuel Bennet and Peter Johnson came up for trial 
before Chief Justice PJatt, on December 22d, 1822, with Simeon Ford 
as district attorney. Bennet pleaded not guilty of murder or man- 
slaughter, as charged, and the case went to a trial. Michael Hoff- 
man and James McCauley were the attorneys for the defendants and 
did their best to secure an acquital. The court adjourned until De- 
cember 12th, when Bennet was found guilty of manslaughter and 
sentenced to State prison for ten years. Peter Johnson was dis- 
charged. No record of the crime can be found. 

THE BRUTAL MURDER OF HIS WIPE BY SAMUEL PERRY. 

His Trial, Conviction and Sentence. The Murderer Commits 

Suicide. Bis Body Stolen by Medical Students. 

Along in the summer of 1826 the people of Herkimer county were 
horrified to hear of the brutal murder of Lydia Perry, by her hus- 
band, Samuel Perry. The facts of the murder show it to be a cold 
blooded and heartless affair. 

Samuel Perry was a resident of the town of Newport, and on the 
day of June 1st, 1826, came into the house with a medium sized 
butcher knife concealed in his right coat sleeve. His wife, Lydia 
Perry, was at the time of his entrance standing at the ironing tabje, 
ironing, with her back to the door. The murderer came up behind 
and put his arm around her waist, pretending that he was about 
to kiss her. With a quick motion he drew the knife from his sleeve. 
and cut the miserable woman's throat. Mrs. Perry dropped to the 
floor and died almost instantly. It is claimed that Perry then stab- 
bed himself twice in the breast, with the same knife, but as the blade 
encountered a rib each time, the wounds given were not of a danger- 
ous character. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



Perry was arrested and taken to the old jail, in Herkimer, at 
that time standing where the new Court House is now located. He 
was indicted for murder on September 11, 1826, and pleaded not 
guilty. His trial was postponed until Wednesday, December loth. 
The case was called the next day before Judge Nathan Williams, 
with Gfeorge H. Feeter as district attorney. Michael Hoffman, Lau- 
ren Ford and 0. G. Otis appeared as counsel for the criminal. For the 
three days during which the trial lasted, the little village of Herki- 
mer was thronged with people. Over forty witnesses were examined 
and the case created so much excitement that many drove from oth- 
er counties to attend court. On the 16th day of December the jury 
found Perry guilty of murder in the first degree. 

On prayer of his counsel a respite of judgment was granted by the 
court, to enable the prisoner to remove the indictment and proceeding 
to the supreme court, to obtain their decision on certain exceptions, 
taken in course of trial, to the opinions and decisions of this court 
in empanneling the jury. A new trial was not granted, however, 
and the criminal was sentenced to be hung. 

During Perry's incarceration in the jail, under the care of Ira 
Crane, jailer, he adopted the modern dodge of insanity. He became 
so violent that the jailer had him chained to the floor, but the situ- 
ation becoming uncomfortable, Perry became more tractable, and 
was finally removed to another cell. The question of Perry's sanity 
became a theme for discussion and it was finally decided to take 
him to Albany and have his case subjected to a rigid examina- 
tion. 

John Dygert, the Sheriff, was about to start with the prisoner 
for Albany, and was walking toward the jail for the purpose of 
bringing him out, when James Byers, a friend of Perry's, notified 
him that the criminal had committed suicide. Col. J. A. Suiter, a Avell 
known resident of Herkimer, and a boy at the time of which I write, 
was playing near the jail and heard Byers' exclamation. Our 
knowledge of what follows is taken from Mr. Suiter's statement, as 
he entered the jail and was present when Perry died. 

When Perry's cell was entered he was found on his knees beside 
the bed, covered with blood. In his throat was a ghastly wound, 
.stretching nearly from ear to ear. It was evident at a glance that 
•the wound was mortal. He was taken from the floor and placed 
upon the bed. The prisoner expressed a wish for a glass of water, 
which was at once brought ; he drained the contents, but as the or- 
gans of the throat were severed the fluid rushed forth from the 
wound. The sight was a horrible one ; the crimson life blood flow- 
ed faster and faster, and the wretched man, as he felt the pangs of 
dissolution rapidly approaching, thrashed from side to side, scatter- 
ing the blood over everything that was near. Perry was a stoutly 
built man with a bull neck, and he died very hard. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



Immediately after his death a search was made for the knife. 
As Perry had already attempted suicide, the attaches of the jail were 
careful not to leave a knife or fork in his cell. Near the center of 
the floor stood a pail of water, and as the water was colored with 
blood, it was evident to all that the suicide had committed the act 
over the pail. When the pail was emptied a razor was thrown out 
with the water. An examination of the blade showed that the pris- 
oner had thoroughly made up his mind to commit suicide, as the edge 
of the razor was dented and nicked where it had come in contact with 
the back bone, or spine. Dr. Ethridge, a medical student, who hap- 
pened to be present, sewed up the wound in Perry's throat and the 
body was made ready for burial. Some little difficulty was experi- 
enced in obtaining a permit to bury Perry in tne cemetery back of 
the present Methodist church, but the matter was finally arranged, 
and he was buried after dark in one corner of the grounds. At that 
time Herkimer county did not boast of a hearse, and the persons 
who had the funeral in charge were at a loss to find a conveyance 
for the coffin. 

Just before dark two men drove into the town with a rickety 
old wagon and a spavined horse. They were both somewhat intoxi- 
cated, and when asked for the loan of the horse and wagon, exclaim- 
ed : 

" Holy horrors, no ! We'd be spooked for the rest of our lives." 

Their natural fondness for whiskey soon led them to forget all 
exterior circumstances. A few choice spirits gathered around, plied 
them with liquor, and both father and son, for such was the relation- 
ship they bore to each other, quickly sank into a state of oblivion, 
as complete as though they had passed the river Styx. The wagon 
and horse were appropriated, the body taken to the grave, and all 
that was left of the murderer and suicide deposited in its last resting 
place. It had become generally known that a party of Fairfield 
medical students were desirous of obtaining the body, hence a watch 
was kept up at the grave for four or five nights succeeding the fun- 
eral. On the fourth night two tramps called upon the watch, and 
being provided with drugged whiskey, proceeded to dose the four or 
five who were guarding the remains. When they awoke from a pro- 
longed slumber the tramps had disappeared, and with them the # 
body of Samuel Perry. 

THE MURDER OF THE INDIAN, PETER WATERS, BY NATHAN- 
IEL FOSTER, IN THE NORTH WOODS. 

The Foster murder case, as it is termed, has proved a fruitful 
source of conversation ever since the trial. As it is often quoted and 
freely discussed by many who have no perfect knowledge of the facts, 
I have taken pains to obtain a true statement of the murder, from 
the most reliable sources. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDEft- 



^S'athaniel Foster and Peter Waters, a Saint Regis Indian, were 
both hunters and trappers in the northern portions of the county. 
They had long traversed the trackless waters and forests together, 
and were apparently the very best of friends. Some time during the 
year or summer of 1834 Foster and the Indian were stopping at a 
tavern in the northern portion of the county. As the old saying 
has it, " when the whiskey is in, the wit is out, :! they both fell to 
quarrelling about some trivial affair. Foster was a man of some 
sixty years of age, and when intoxicated, often proved eiuarrelsoine. 
The Indian was in the prime of life, and, like the most of his race, 
never forgot a kindness or failed to revenge an injury. 

Foster abused Waters shamefully, threatening to give him a 
whipping, and calling him all the various names of the wilderness 
that he could lay his tongue to. War was imminent between the two, 
but they were finally separated and the Indian persuaded to leave. 
Just before departure he uttered a threat in Foster's presence, say- 
ing that he would have his life in revenge for the insults heaped up- 
on him. Foster heard this, and at once made up his mind to assas- 
sinate the Indian. Without saying a word to any one, he obtained 
a knowledge of the Indian's course and made preparations for way- 
laying him. Waters left the tavern in company with two white men, 
embarked in a canoe on the river and set out for a trip through the 
Fulton chain of Lakes. Foster, by a short cut through the forest, 
came out on a point some five miles in advance of the party, and 
took up a position in the underbrush. The scene chosen for the 
crime was a picturesqe one. The little point of land was located on 
one side of the channel, connecting the first and second lakes, and 
but a few rods from the clear expanse of second lake. 

Foster waited patiently until the canoe arrived opposite his lurk- 
ing place, when he leveled his rifle, and shot Waters through the 
heart. He was shortly afterward arrested, brought to Herkimer, 
for trial, and indicted that same year. 

The murderer was ably defended by the following named law- 
yers : Joshua Spencer Aaron Hackley, Gr. H. Feeter, Lauren Ford, 
and Elisha P. Hurlburt, afterwards Judge of the Court of Appeals, 
and the only one of the number now living. The Hon. Hiram Denio 
was the presiding judge and James B. Hunt, disti'ict attorney, who 
conducted the case for the people, assisted by Simeon Ford, Esq, 

The trial was an interesting one, and during its continuance cre- 
ated considerable excitement. A singular feature of the trial was 
the over-ruling of the Circuit judge by the three side judges. "A 
plea of justifiable homicide was advanced by the defense, the claim 
being made that an Indian's threats, by reason of his nature and 
savage education, were to be considered more dangerous than those 
of a white man ; and that Foster, in slaughtering Waters, had mere- 
ly acted in self defense. The jury before whom the ease wae tried, 



10 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

were principally of German descent, and as stories of Indian massa- 
cres were still prevalent in the county, they evidently considered 
the killing of Waters as of little moment, and apparently acquitted 
the prisoner on the grounds of justifiable homicide. 

SANFORD KLOCK. 

Sanford Klock, of Little Falls, was tried June 3d, 1835, before 
Justice Nathan Williams, James B. Hunt, district attorney, for the 
killing of Richard Williams. Klock was indicted for striking Will- 
iams upon the head with a club, from the effects of which he died 
on April 10th. The prisoner plead not guilty and was so acquitted 
by the jury. 

JARED WEBSTER. 

Jared Webster, of the town of Danube, was indicted on Septem- 
ber 17th, 1835, for the murder of William Bellinger, on August 10th, 
same year. The prisoner struck Bellinger on the right side of the 
head with a stone, killing him almost instantly. The trial came off 
on March 16th and 17th of the following year. The jury, after due 
deliberation , gave in a verdict of acquittal. Judge Nathan Williams 
was the presiding justice, and James B. Hunt district attorney. 

ABRAM J. CASLER. 

Abram J. Casler, of the town of Manheim, was tried June 10th, 
1847, before Justice Mason, George B. Judd district attorney, for the 
murder of William Knox, April 12th, the same year. The jury con- 
victed him of the crime of manslaughter. 

COLD TEA AS A DEADLY AGENT. 

Mrs. Daniel S. Neeley, of Fairfield, Poisoned by her Son-in- 
law, R. E. Dickey — The Murderer Commits Suicide. 

On the 13th day of May, 1849, the people of Fairfield were horri- 
fied by the murder of Mrs. David S. Neeley, wife of David Neeley, 
by her son-in-law, Dr. R. E. Dickey. At the inquest, held by Coro- 
ner Putnam, the following facts were elicited : 

R. E. Dickey was a son-in-law of the deceased, having married a 
daughter of Mrs. Neeley's. The union did not prove a pleasant one, 
and after a short season of domestic infelicity, the wife returned to 
the home of her parents. It was the custom of the household to 
use cold tea as a beverage throughout the day and, on the morning 
of the murder, the teapot was as usual set aside for this purpose. 
A short time after breakfast Nancy Neeley drank a small quantity 
of the tea, and was taken deathly ill. She recovered after an inter- 
val and and at once proceeded to clean the teapot, throwing the 
contents into a pail and scalding the utensil thoroughly. She then 
made another pot full and placed it upon the table. During the 
forenoon Mrs. Neeley drank of the contents and at once went into 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 11 

convulsions. Her condition rapidly grew worse and the unfortun- 
ate woman died within the nour. During the excitement, Dickey, 
who was stopping at the house at the time, emptied the contents of 
the teapot out of the window, and was afterwards observed cleaning 
the porch floor. Suspicion at once pointed to him as the probable 
murderer, and a warrant being issued, he was arrested, just as he 
was about to board the train at Little Falls. Coroner Putnam at 
once impanneled a jury, and ordered a post mortem examination 
made as to the cause of death. The testimony of the physicians con- 
ducting the examination, proved that Mrs. Neeley came to her death 
by a dose of Prussic acid, and Dickey was accordingly held for the 
Or and Jury. 

While the inquest was in progress the prisoner succeeded in 
making his escape, and for a time baffled every effort made by his 
pursuers. He was followed so closely, however, that he at last took 
refuge under the floor of the wood house attached to the residence 
of a relative. The whole neighborhood turned out in pursuit, and 
Dickey was finallv run to earth. When the murderer learned that 
his place of concealment was discovered, he opened a small pen 
knife and cut his throat. He lived but ten minutes after being 
drawn from his hiding place. 

JOHN ANDERSON. 

On October 2d, 1849, before Justice Mason, Geo. B. Judd, district 
attorney, John Anderson was tried for manslaughter. The indict- 
ment charged him with the killing of Daniel Cooley, in the town of 
Schuyler, August 26th, 1849, with a club. He was convicted, and 
sentenced to Auburn prison for the term of 3 years. 

JOHN ALLEN. 

John Allen, of the town of Schuyler, was indicted for murder on 
April 1st, 1850. Allen was accused of killing a Jew pedler on or 
about February 23d, in the same year. The case came up for trial 
before Judge Philo Gridley, Geo. B. Judd district attorney, on Sep- 
tember 4th, 1850. The trial created considerable excitement and 
over forty witnesses were examined. After a long session, the court 
directed the jury to return a verdict of acquittal. The Hon. Samuel 
Earl, Hon. Robert Earl and Volney Owen appeared as counsel for 
the defense, and it is owing to their untiring efforts that the prisoner 
was discharged. Allen had formerly been a soldier in the English 
army, and when the verdict was given a tall rough looking individ- 
ual seated in the back portion of the court room, sprang to his feet, 
and cheered enthusiastically for the prisoner. There was no ques- 
tion but what Allen was innocent of the crime charged. 

THE LUTHER CASE. 

The Luther murder occupied the attention of the public during 
the year 1850. Thomas Luther, the murderer, killed his brother, in 



12 HERKIMER COUJN'TY MURDERS. 



the. town of Norway, with an ax. The brother was a married man, 
and both Thomas and himself were somewhat addicted to drink- 
ling. One evening while the brothers were together, the bottle flow- 
ing freely, a quarrel arose between them. Prom words they proceed- 
ed to blows, and Thomas Luther perceiving an ax, seized it and 
struck his brother a fatal blow in the neck. He continued to ply 
the. ax, until he had completely severed the head from the body. 

The case was tried before Judge William J. Bacon, Volney Owen, 
district attorney, on September 9th and 10th. The prisoner plead 
not guiltjr, but the jury convicted him of murder in the first degree, 
and he was sentenced to be hung on the 28th day of October. 

Judge Graves interested himself in the fate of the criminal, and 
finally succeeded in securing from the Governor, Myron H. Clark, a 
commutation of the sentence to imprisonment for life. Luther re- 
mained in prison for eight or ten years, a pardon being finally se- 
cured for him through the intercession of Judge Graves. 

A COLD-BLOODED CASE OF POISONING. 

Miles Wilcox Poisons His Friend, Geo. G. Piatt. 
Miles Wilcox was indicted for murder on April 23rd, 1861. He 
plead not guilty, and the case was set down for trial on October 28th, 
before Circuit Judge Joseph Mullin, with S. S. Morgan as district 
attorney. Wilcox was charged with the murder of George G. Piatt, 
in the town of Litchfield, on August 23rd, 1860. He was a married 
man, and for some reason or other, suspected that his wife and Piatt 
were altogether too intimate. On the 23rd of August, at a picnic, 
Wilcox produced two bottles of whisky, and invited Piatt to drink. 
In one of the bottles he had previously placed a quantity of strych- 
nine, and from this bottle poured out a drink and handed it to Piatt, 
drinking himself from the other. Piatt died soon after in great 
agony. Wilcox was arrested and tried for the crime — as already 
stated— on October 28th, 1861. Roscoe Conkling defended the pris- 
oner, and made an eloquent plea in his behalf. Wilcox at first 
entered a plea of not guilty, but was finally allowed to withdraw 
that, and plead guilty of manslaughter in the 3rd degree. Judge 
Mullin protested against accepting the plea, but was overruled by 
Judge Graves, County Judge, and the Justices of Sessions. Judge 
Mullin eta,ted that he did not wish to go on record as accepting a 
plea of manslaughter, when the evidence produced in open court 
tended to prove the criminal guilty of a deliberate and cold-blooded 
murder. The plea was, however, accepted, and the prisoner sen. 
tenced to Auburn for two years and six months. Wilcox died in 
prison before the expiration of his term. 

DANIEL WAL3ATH KILLS HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER, AND 
THEN COMMITS SUICIDE, 
During the last of November, 1865, the community of Little Falls 
was terribly shocked to learn that Daniel Walrath. of that place, 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 13 

had killed his wife and daughter, and then committed suicide by- 
shooting himself. 

Mr. Walrath was about sixty years of age, and at the time of the 
murder, was undoubtedly suffering from a temporary abberation of 
mind. His wife, Paulina, was about fifty years of age, and his daugh- 
ter, Mary Josephine, about ten years old. Mr. Walrath bore the 
reputation of being a good husband and a loving father. He was 
comparatively well off, but for some little time previous to the dread- 
ful act, was noticed to be in a despondent mood, and expressed him- 
self, on several occasions, as in fear of want. By continually brood- 
ing upon the subject, his mind at last gave way, and without warn- 
ing to the unfortunate victims, his insanity culminated in their 
deaths, and his own, by his own hand. It is supposed that the crime 
was committed on Monday morning, November 26th. The next day 
and the day following, the house was noticed to be closed, and as 
none of the family were seen about, an investigation was made. Mr. 
Yan Valkenburg entered an upper window by means of a ladder, 
and on coming down stairs saw the bodies of Mrs. Walrath and her 
daughter in their night clothes, both dead, with their throats cut. 
He thereupon gave the alarm; it was first supposed that burglars 
had committed the deed, but the finding of the body of Mr. Walrath 
in the wood house chamber settled the manner of the crime beyond 
a doubt. He had knocked his wife and daughter down with a heavy 
cane, which was found, and then cut their throats with a razor, 
then with bloody hands he deliberately loaded his gun and went into 
the wood house chamber, to which he was tracked by bloody foot- 
prints, and by means of a cord attached to the trigger of his gun, he 
shot himself in the head. 

The coroner iinpanneled a jury, who after hearing the testimony 
decided that the wife and daughter came to their deaths from the 
hands of Mr. Walrath, while suffering from a fit of temporary insan- 
ity. Mrs. Walrath was a sister of the well known lion tamer, Herr 
Driesbeck, who on one occasion, while passing through the village of 
Little Falls, gave a private exhibition of his power over the brutes, 
especially for his sister's benefit. The writer is indebted to counsel- 
lor Judge Jacob H. Weber for the particulars of this affair, and 
also one or two others, which I take this occasion of acknowledging. 

MURDER OF A HOTEL LANDLORD AT FRANKFORT HILL. 

On Monday, May 7th, 1866, five indictments for murder were 
presented to the court over Avhich Judge Wm. J. Bacon was presid- 
ing, S. S. Morgan district attorney. The indictments charged Asa 
Fuller, Hill Davis, Wm. Dutcher, Ernest Vance and Chas. Vance 
with assaulting and killing a saloon keeper or a hotel landlord by 
the name of Campbell, at or near Frankfort Hill. The prisoners all 
plead guilty of manslaughter in the 2nd degree, and were sentenced 



14: HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

to Auburn prison at hard labor for seven years each. Fuller, Davis 
and Dutcher were from Utica, the two Vances being residents of 
Frankfort. 

THE LYMAN POISONING CASE. 

On Wednesday, December 8th, 1869, Mrs. Nancy Lyman was 
brought up for trial before Judge H. A. Foster, Chas. Gr. Burrows 
district attorney, who on the trial was assisted by Judge Hardin. 
Mrs. Lyman was indicted for poisoning her husband, Ephraim Gard- 
ner, at Denison's Corners, a pretty little hamlet some distance south 
of the village of Mohawk. While the belief was general that the 
woman was guilty of the crime as charged, the district attorney 
failed to find proof, and the jury in consequence were obliged to give 
in a verdict of acquittal. The prisoner was defended by the Hon. 
Sam'l Earl and the Hon. Robert Earl. The post mortem examina- 
tion of the body revealed the presence of white arsenic in sufficient 
quantity to produce death. How or when the poison was adminis- 
tered remained a veiled secret until after the trial. It was then 
claimed by some that the deadly powder was given in a pie. The 
woman is still living. 

THE MURDER OF WILLIAM EACKER BY JOHN A. WALRATH. 

On the 30th day of November, 1870, the grand jury presented to 
the court of Oyer and Terminer a true bill of indictment for man- 
slaughter, against John A. Walrath, for the killing of one William 
Eacker. 

The murder took place in the town of Manheiin, on the 25th day 
of November. According to the indictment Eacker came to his death 
by being severely beaten and kicked. 

The case was sent to the Sessions for trial, and finally came up 
before Judge Amos H. Prescott, on February 20th, 1872. The dis- 
trict attorney, A. M. Mills, was assisted on the trial by A. B. Steele. 
H. Clay Hall appeared as counsel for the defense, assisted by the able 
criminal lawyer, S. S- Morgan. 

The affray in which Eacker met his death, occurred at Ingham's 
Mills. The deceased, after the fight, made his way along a dark pas- 
sage, and was discovered dead on the large flag stone just before the 
door. Near the body was found a small stone, which the district 
attorney claimed that Walrath had used in committing the deed. 
It was suggested by others that H. Clay Hall placed it there in order 
to form a theory for the defense, but no attention was paid to the 
remark. In order to prove that a skull could be easily fractured 
on the side above the ear, the district attorney presented in open 
court, the skull of a young woman, and introduced it as evidence. 
H. Clay Hall on the succeeding day presented the skull of a man of 
the same age as Eacker, and proved to the satisfaction of the jury, 
that it was impossible to fracture a skull of that age, with the same 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 15 



ease as that of the young woman which the district attorney had 
introduced. In spite of the efforts of his counsel, the prisoner was 
found guilty, and sentenced to State prison for two years. 

The introduction of the skulls as evidence, so affected one of the 
jurymen that he evolved the following unique specimen of ghastly 
literature. The article in question was handed to me by district at- 
torney Steele, and I here present it for the edification of the reader: 

CONVERSATION OF THE SKULLS. 

Scene 1st. — Herkimer County Court House, Court in Session 

and Full House. 

1st Skull, Solus : 

Why am I here in this ill- ventilated room ? Let me listen a mo- 
ment and I soon shall learn, meanwhile I will observe the crowd. 

This young man who sits near me has a very good-natured and 
pleasant countenance, so I think he is not dangerous, though there 
is no person who bears a harder name, or whose temper is more fre- 
quently spoken of, than his. 

The next one near me has a name suggestive of labor and manu- 
facturing, and ought therefore to be a productive and useful mem- 
ber of society. 

Who is this just below me? A small, quick, nervous man, — yet 
he speaks well and will probably leave no stone unturned that he 
deems will be of help to him. He seems to be associated with one of 
a tall and commanding appearance, whose movements and words 
indicate moderation and caution, whose language and gestures are 
impressive, and when he speaks the audience is hushed. 

Little thinks this active man, as he takes me from hand to hand 
with careless gestures, that the ethereal essence— the invisible spirit — 
has for the time returned to its former habitation ; that the blank 
cavities, where once rolled the sparkling orbs, are even now filled 
with the spiritual eyes,— now looking out at him and upon all be- 
fore me. 

Each sound now vibrates on the spiritual ear, and the essence 
of the brain that once filled this dome is present, conscious and 
active. 

These frightful sockets were once filled with eyes as dark as 
night, whose languishing looks of love melted many a youthful 
heart, whose sparkling flashes of wit or smiles of pleasure charmed 
and enlivened my friends, and whose glances of anger or of scorn 
silenced or abashed my foes. 

Long is the time since this bare bone was crowned with beauti- 
ful flowing ringlets (and all my own), that were praised by my ad- 
mirers or envied by my rivals. 

But these memories crowding around me are needless here • to 
all this assembly I am only a grinning, hideous skull, suggestive of 



16 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



death, decay and dust. People look on me with averted eyes, as a 
horrible sight ; unpleasant thoughts arise in their minds, and they 
believe the sexton has failed in his duty. 

Some of these heads now before me may in after years grin in a 
doctor's office, or grace (!) the museum of some phrenologist — (I 
think that is the word, though I have but lately heard it),— or per- 
haps be brought out on some public occasion like this to add terror 
to the language of a learned doctor of law. Only hear him now, as 
he irreverently takes the wrappings from me, and holds me up to 
the gaze of the court and jury. How flippantly he speaks; he tells 
of "frontal bones" and "occepital," of "temporal bones" and 
"dusa mater," of "arteries and veins," of "fractures," "hemorr- 
hages" and "congestions." 

With patience must I bear these uses and comfort myself with 
the thought that, sooner or later, other empty skulls may come to 
court. 

The shades of evening are falling ; the business of the day is 
drawing to a close with earthly things ; to me no day, no night is 
known. 

Spirits belong to eternity, and while these drowsy mortals pass 
a space of time in sleep I will visit other scenes, to reappear again 
on what is called to-morrow. 

While all are wrapt in silent slumber I will hover near them, 
holding converse with their spirits in the language of dreams, though 
the unconscious body lies in the counterfeit of death. 

The coming morn you may hear these persons tell of dreaming 
of dead or absent Mends, of skeletons and skulls, or of kicks, con- 
gestions, drunkenness and death. 

Scene 2d. — Scene, The Court House. 

1st Skull, Solus : 

Again I am brought out and exposed to all the rabble, I almost 
said alone, but there is another skull near me— a more aged one ; this 
is better, to be alone is not Avell. I will address the stranger. Who 
art thou and {enter 2d Skull) why art thou here ? 
2d Skull: 

My name may not be spoken ; I am here to gratify the common 
desire of human beings to not be excelled by their rivals ; if your 
friends can afford to have a skull so can mine. 

But with spirits there should be no rivalry ; we will speak of the 
scene now before us. 

How many years of human counting have rolled away since you 
left the flesh ? 
1st Skull: 

Full half a century has departed since these bones were clothed 
in beauty, — since thoughts of love, hopes of honor and the pride of 
youth were suddenly cut off by relentless Death, and my immortal 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 17 

soul was set free from the fetters of flesh and has since ranged the 
boundless eternity. 
2d Skull: 

But why is this gathering and this war of words ; 
1st Skull: 

Listen and you will learn, — the old story of wrong that is ever 
rehearsing by men on earth. In the flesh you probably knew and 
realized something of the enemy that men take to steal their brains 
away. Anger and revenge have been at work, and death and sor- 
row have resulted ; here are fragments of a skull broken in a fray, 
and the offender is now waiting for the punishment soon to be 
measured t<5 him. 

2d Skull: 

I see ; but my bones would have borne a heavier blow— my 
skull is thick. Things are different in this age ; time works great 
changes. When I was in the old jail here, seventy years ago, heads 
bore more bruising than now. 
1st Skull: 

Let us speak of other things. I hardly understand how I was 
brought here so rapidly ; truly spirits know no time or space, yet 
our old homes must be carried about — they are matter. 
2d Skull: 

Have you not heard of the great discoveries of mortals spiritual- 
izing water. With great heat they drive off the grosser parts, and 
then the loosened spirit becomes a mighty power. Mortals confine 
it and make it do the work of countless— horses. It propels large 
ships across the ocean, turns the wheels of vast manufactories, and 
moves men and merchandise with wonderful speed. 
1st Skull: 

Again I ask, — my curiosity is excited. Yestermorn I was quietly 
reposing in a dark closet ; my owner was here ; he wanted me ; he 
sent for me in an instant of time. How is this done — sending word 
with the rapidity of thought ? 

2d Skull: 

Man has tamed the lightning, turned it to his own use, and with 
it flashes his thoughts around the world. 

1st Skull: 

I will speak of more congenial subjects, — as our time is short 
here I wish to improve it. I see by the females here that they are 
still the slaves of fashion, as I fear they ever will be. My attention 
is very naturally directed to the head, and I observe that the bon- 
nets are so small, but they are so by reason of the unnatural form 
of the heads of this age. The unsightly and large escresence on the 
back of the head makes it impossible to put a comfortable bonnet 
upon it. I have understood that this was formed artificially at first 



18 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

but as this imposed much hard labor on the wearer, the heads of the 
weaker sex are now formed with this protuberance by nature. This 
Avill be likely to cause a new departure in what these moderns call 
phrenology, but I do not doubt but these learned men will be equal 
to the emergency, as there is no increase of brains in these new 
heads, but rather the contrary. 

2d Skull : 

I hear you have not lost your old habit of much talking, and 
that curiosity is still a virtue with your sex. But our conversation 
must cease, as our friends seem to be leaving, and besides for some 
time I have observed one who appeared to be listening to us, and 
possibly he has heard all we have said. » 

1st Skull: 

You are like all the men, ever accusing us of much talking ; and 
if one did hear us I hope he will hear that I have had the last word. 

THE MURDER OF ALYAH AVERY BY THEODORE THOMPSON. 

A desperate affray took place on October 1st, 1870, in the town 
of Salisbury, between Alvah Avery and Theodore Thompson. Avery 
and Thompson met at a hotel owned by H. J. Palmer, and from 
words finally proceeded to blows. During the melee Thompson suc- 
ceeded in opening a large dirk knife and with it stabbed Avery in 
the upper part of the thigh. He was observed by persons present to 
rise suddenly from the floor, close the knife and make for the door. 
Before they hardly realized what had happened he made his escape 
across the bridge into Fulton county. It is reported by those cog- 
nizant of the affair that he visited his home and hurriedly said 
good-bye to his wife and family, saying that he was bound for Can- 
ada. He was not arrested, and consequently the case does not ap- 
pear on the records. 

Coroner Charles H. Batchelder, of Herkimer, was summoned to 
the scene of the crime, and impanneled a jury who, after hearing the 
testimony, rendered a verdict of murder against Thompson. 

JOHN T. JOHNSON AND THOMAS McCALLAGHAN. 

On March 30th, 1871, John T. Johnson and Thomas McCallaghan 
were brought into court under an indictment charging them jointly 
with murder. They pleaded not guilty and were remanded to jail 
to await trial. On March 31st, Johnson was brought before Judge 
Doolittle, Albert M. Mills, district attorney, and was allowed to enter 
a plea of guilty of manslaughter in the fourth degree. The plea was 
accepted by the Court, and he received a sentence of two years in the 
Onondaga Penitentiary. On April 6th, Callaghan plead guilty of mur- 
der in the second degree, and was sentenced to Auburn for seven years. 
The prisoners were charged with beating and kicking an unknown 
man to death on the 22d day of March, 1871. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 19 

JOHN FOSTER AND EDWARD FLEMING. 

On Wednesday, July 5th, 1871, John Foster and Edward Flem- 
ing, of Little Falls, were tried for the murder of Anson Casler. The 
victim was beaten and kicked to death. The case was called before 
Judge Doolittle ; Albert M. Mills, district attorney. After a courts' 
session of a week's duration, Foster was found not guilty, and Flem- 
ing discharged without a trial. 

The main point of evidence presented by the prosecution was 
the statement of a convict from Auburn, who, at the time of Foster's 
confinement in the Herkimer jail, occupied the same cell as the 
prisoner. This witness stated that Foster had admitted the killing 
to niin. The Court allowed the evidence, but the jury did not be- 
lieve the statement, and accordingly acquitted the prisoner. 

MURDER AND SUICIDE. - 

The Killing of Mrs. Pangburn by Her Husband. 

During the month of August, 1871, another horrible murder and 
suicide startled the quiet denizens of the Mohawk Valley, and, as 
usual, proved the chief topic of conversation for a longer period than 
the proverbial nine days. The murder referred to happened on or 
about the 15th day of August, and before daylight in the morning,- 
at East Frankfort. The neighbors living near were aroused from 
their quiet matutinal slumbers by a series of frenzied shrieks issuing 
from the house of Dyer Pangburn. On entering a terrible sight 
met their eyes. Mrs. Pangburn was found in the kitchen with her 
head crushed and lying in a crimson pool of her own life blood. 
Near by was discovered a potato-masher, covered with blood, which 
had evidently been used to commit the deed. 

The children, when questioned, stated " that their father was 
the murderer." A search of the premises was immediately instituted. 
On entering the barn the body of the husband — murderer and sui- 
cide — was found suspended from a beam. He was at once cut down, 
but life was extinct. Coroner Sheldon, of Frankfort, was summoned 
and held an inquest, the verdict of the jury being in accordance 
with* the above facts. 

THE DYKEMAN MURDER. 

A If red YTr a vers Dykeman was indicted for murder on the 28th 
day of April, 1874. The case came up for trial, May 8th, before 
Judge George A. Hardin. Albert M. Mills, district attorney, assisted 
by Judge George W. Smith, appeared for the people. After a court 
session of nearly a week the jury returned a verdict of guilty in the 
first degree, and the prisoner was sentenced to be hung on the 25th 
day of June. The criminal was ably defended by J. A. & A. B. Steele, 
who, on the 22d day of May, agreed with the district attorney upon 
a bill of exceptions, and carried the case to the General Term for 
argument. On the 23d of June, J. A. Steele argued for a new trial 



20 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

before the General Term at Buffalo, and secured a reversal of the 
conviction. The second trial of Dykeman began on November 17th, 
and was of about the same duration. The jury found the prisoner 
guilty of murder in the second degree, and Dykeman was sentenced 
to State prison for life. 

The murder for which Dykeman was sentenced was the killing 
of Benj. Dykeman, in the town of Warren, near what is known as 
the Cruger Mansion. It is supposed that Alfred Dykeman, the pris- 
oner, was guilty of criminal intimacy with his victim's wife ; that 
Benjamin Dykeman, the murdered man, came up from Mohawk 
and found Alfred with her, and that a desperate quarrel there- 
upon ensued. The killing was universally admitted, but it was 
claimed that the prisoner stabbed him in self-defense. 

LORENZO HATS. 

Lorenzo Hays was indicted for the murder of Norman R. P. Bel- 
linger, September, 1874. The case came up for trial at the Court of 
Sessions, before Judge Amos H. Prescott, but as a prisoner under 
indictment for murder cannot be tried in this court, Judge Prescott 
referred the case to the next Oyer and Terminer. 

At the term of Oyer and Terminer which convened on Novem- 
ber 20th, Hays was brought before Judge George A. Hardin, and 
withdrew his plea of not guilty, and plead guilty of manslaughter 
in the 4th degree. The court accepted the plea, and Hays was sen- 
tenced to the county jail for one year, and to pay a fine of $250. At 
the end of his term of imprisonment, Hays was brought from jail on 
a writ of habeas corpus, and an error being found in the wording of 
the fine, discharged from custody. 

The crime for which the prisoner was tried, was the killing of 
Bellinger on August 4th, 1874, at Little Falls. The deceased was 
found dead, with a terrible wound in the head, back of the right ear. 
Albert M. Mills, as district attorney, conducted the case for the peo- 
ple, H. Ciay Hall appearing for the defense. 

THE MURDER OF ORLO DAYIS, 

By the Fredenburgs, in the Town of Ohio. 

The murder of Orlo Davis, in the town of Ohio, on the 23rd day 
of June, 1875, is well remembered by the people of Herkimer county. 
The case created considerable excitement at the time, and the trial, 
in the following November, was largely attended. 

On November 8th of the same year, before Judge Milton H. Mer- 
win, appeared Lodicia Fredenburg, Albert Fredenburg. Mary Davis 
and Franklin Davis, to answer the charge of murder. As the Fre- 
den burgs had no counsel, S. S. Morgan was assigned by the court, 
Judge George W. Smith acting as counsel for the Davis's. On No- 
vember 20th, district attorney Albert M. Mills brought up the case, 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 21 

and after a long session, the Fredenburgs were found guilty of mur- 
der in the first degree. The court sentenced them to be hung Decem- 
ber 31st, between the hours of ten and four. 

The testimony produced at the trial proved that the Freden- 
burgs killed Davis by striking him on the neck with an ax. On April 
26th, Albert Fredenburg was respited by the Governor, until a mo- 
tion could be made for a new trial. After hearing the argument the 
court took the papers and reserved decision. On April 29th, Judge 
Hardin decided against a new trial, and stated that the sentence of 
the court must be carried out. The two Davis's were*allowed to 
give State's evidence, and were finally discharged from custody on 
motion of their counsel, the Hon. George W. Smith. Immediately 
after the sentence a strong effort was made in behalf of the prisoners. 
An affidavit was secured from Mary Davis, to the effect that the tes- 
timony given by her on the trial was false. When the papers were 
presented to Governor Tilden, and he had looked them over, he 
stated "That he would not hang a dog on such testimony," and 
commuted the sentence of death to imprisonment for life. It is re- 
ported that Mrs. Fredenburg died on Blackwell's Island about one 
year ago, and that Albert, after remaining some time as an inmate 
of Auburn prison was transferred to Clinton. 

THE MURDER OF MULVERHILL AT NEWPORT. 

The murder of Mulverhill by Pat Crowley, in 1876, created as 
much excitement in the county as any previous case. The evidence 
produced at the trial by the prosecution proved in every way that 
the homicide was a premeditated and cold-blooded murder. Mul- 
verhill was a brother-in-law of the murderer, having married his 
sister. The marriage for some reason or other proved distasteful to 
Crowley, and he upon several occasions had evinced a desire to 
quarrel with his brother-in-law. 

On the day of the murder Crowley was at home, engaged in the 
laudable occupation of sampling the contents of a keg of hard cider. 
As the sampling process proceeded, Crowley gradually became ele- 
vated, and was soon in a condition to engage in anything from a 
free fight to a murder. While in this delicious frame of mind he 
looked out of the window and perceived his brother-in-law driving 
by in a sleigh. The sight enraged Crowley to such an extent that 
he sprang through the doorway, seized a stick of wood and ran up 
the road after the cutter. Mulverhill stopped the sleigh and waited 
for his brother-in-law to approach. Crowley came up, and without 
saying a word struck Mulverhill a terrible blow on the head, killing 
him almost instantly. 

The murderer was arrested and indicted for the crime, April 
18th, 1876. The case came up for trial before Judge George A. 
Hardin, April 26th, but was postponed until next Court, May 7th> 



22 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS- 

1877. As the peculiarities of law are past the ken of mortal rnaiij 
the case did not come up until December 11th, 1877, when it was 
tried before Judge Milton H. Merwin. The prisoner was found guilty 
of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to State prison for 
life. 

The case for the people was conducted by J. J. Dudleston, Jr., 

assisted by the previous district attorney, A. M. Mills. The prisoner 

was defended by the late S. S. Morgan, one of the best criminal 

lawyers ever known in this County. 
« 
Mulverhill's skull, which was introduced in Court, is now in an 

upper chamber — over the judges' room— in the Court House, at 

Herkimer. 

THE SHOOTING} OF MOSES HOLDEN BY ALPHONZO KLOCK. 

Alphonzo Klock, of Little Falls, was indicted for shooting Moses 
Holden, on November 11th, 1880. The case was tried before Judge 
Milton H. Mervin,— A. B. Steele, district attorney, — on February 
14th, 1881. The jury retired, and brought in a verdict of man- 
slaughter in the third degree, but strongly recommending the pris- 
oner to the mercy of the Court. He was sentenced to two years in 
State prison, and served his term. The facts of the murder are as 
follows: Moses C. Holden, a married man and resident of Herkimer, 
became acquainted with Klock's sister, and finally succeeded in se- 
ducing her. They afterwards lived together, both in Herkimer and 
Syracuse. The woman, after giving birth to a child, of which 
Holden was the undoubted father, was finally persuaded to leave 
him, and again returned home. Holden was seen in the neighbor- 
hood on several different occasions, and was as often warned to keep 
away. He paid no attention to the warning, and one night was dis- 
covered by the brother in the barn attached to the premises. The 
barn being dark in the interior Klock was unable to distinguish 
features, but as he stepped towards the dark corner in which he had 
observed the moving figure, Holden walked towards him, at the 
same time ordering him to leave the place, or he would compel him. 
Klock claims that Holden raised his arm as though about to strike, 
and that he thereupon drew his revolver and fired one shot. Holden 
uttered a cry, sprang through the open door of the barn and dropped 
dead a few paces away. The shooting took place Sunday night and 
the body was allowed to remain exposed to the rays of a hot sum- 
mer sun until late Monday afternoon. Klock went to Little Falls 
the next morning and gave himself up. 

As the recommendation of the jury bears witness, the sympathy 
of the public was largely in favor of the prisoner. He was defended 
by the able criminal lawyer, S. S. Morgan, and to his eloquent argu- 
ment can in a measure owe his short sentence. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 23 



JOHN WELCH KILLS HIS WIFE AT LITTLE FALLS. 

John Welch, a stonemason by trade and the proprietor of a 
saloon at Little Falls known as Washington Hall, was indicted on 
February '23d, 1882, for the murder of his wife. 

The particulars of the murder are as follows : Welch was intoxi- 
cated at the time and asked his wife for a bottle of whiskey which 
she had procured for him a short time before. She replied "that 
she knew nothing about it." Welch told her that she lied, and 
aimed a blow at her head. The woman escaped the blow and ran 
through two or three rooms, the prisoner following in pursuit. A 
little son of the pair told his father that his mother had hidden the 
bottle under a pillow in the bedroom. Welch, after a search se- 
cured the whiskey, and then proceeded to beat and illtreat his wife 
in so brutal a manner that she bled to death. The case was brought 
before the next term of Court for trial. The Court convened May 
31st, 1882, with Judge Irving Gr. Vann on the bench, and A. B. 
Steele, district attorney. After a long session the jury brought in 
a verdict of muruer in the second degree, and the prisoner was 
accordingly sentenced to State prison for life. S. S. Morgan, the 
counsel for the defendant, moved for a new trial, but the Court de- 
nied the motion. The case was afterwards appealed to the Gfeneral 
Term, but after a hearing the conviction was sustained. During the 
trial the prosecution offered to prove that Welch and his wife had, 
some seven or eight years previous, murdered her first husband 
John Horan by name. The woman was reported as confessing the 
crime to a neighbor, and at the same time expressing an apprehen- 
sion that Welch would kill her in the near future. The aim of the 
district attorney was to secure a conviction of murder in the first 
degree. 

Drs. Draper and Suiter performed a special post mortem exam- 
ination, which evinced the fact that two or three ribs were broken, 
and that there was a strong probability that the woman came to her 
death from concussion of the heart or brain. It was finally decided 
not to press the matter, as the Court declined to receive the evi- 
dence, assigning as a reason subsequently, that by so doing the jury 
would have convicted the prisoner of murder in the first degree, 
while the testimony [presented in regard to the present murder, did 
not warrant a conviction only in the second. 

MRS. PARKES, OF HERKIMER, KILLS HER TWO CHILDREN 
AND THEN COMMITS SUICIDE. 

The particulars of this terrible tragedy are gathered from the 
account published at the time, in the Utica Daily Observer. The ar- 
ticle was written by our popular young townsman, Judge T. C. 
Murray, to whom the writer is indebted for favors which he takes 
this occasion to acknowledge. 



24 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

The triple murder occurred on the evening of Sunday, March 
25th, 1883, at the residence of the unfortunate woman, on Prospect 
street, Herkimer. The following is Mr. Murray's account of the 
affair : 

Herkimer, March 26. 

The most horrible tragedy eyer enacted in this vicinity occurred 
here about 8:40 p. M. Sunday. The facts as nearly as could be ascer- 
tained by your correspondent are substantially as follows': 

Thomas Parkes is a member of the firm of Parkes, Barry & Co., 
grocers and druggists of this place. His family consisted of a wife 
and two children, the oldest child about five years of age, and the 
youngest an infant of about two months. Mrs. Parkes was an esti- 
mable lady, about 25 years old, and is a sister of the wife of Jerome 
L. Farrington, who lives near the Ilion depot. Mr. Parkes was, until 
his removal here, about a year ago, an employee of the Remingtons, 
holding a responsible position as book-keeper. Last evening the 
whole community was horrified by the news which spread like wild- 
fire, that Mrs. Parkes had shot herself and two children. The news 
proved, on investigation, only too true. The facts as learned from 
the lips of those who know most of the terrible tragedy, are as fol- 
lows : 

Between 8 and 9 o'clock Mrs. Parkes, who was in bed or about to 
prepare for bed, called the servant girl and told her to summon Mrs. 
Bull, who lives in the next house, as she wanted to see her. The 
oirl immediately left the house, and after delivering her message, 
came directly back, and found Mrs. Parkes lying on the bed, a child 
on either side. Mrs. Parkes grasped a pistol in her right hand, a 
wound from which appeared on her right temple, and both children 
were gasping in death, from a wound in the head from the pistol in 
the hands of the mother. 

The girl had not been from the house ten minutes, and the result 
which appeared had been accomplished apparently with the greatest 
deliberation. The mother had lain down on the bed between the 
two children, and shot them first, as they lay, the ball in each case 
entering the side of the head next to her. She then placed the still 
smoking weapon to her own head, and discharged the contents of 
another barrel into her brain. The mother died almost immediately 
after receiving her wound. The youngest child lived about three 
hours, and the oldest one died about four o'clock this morning. 

Of course, as is always the case upon the enactment of such a 
horrible tragedy, which no one could foresee, and which there was 
apparently no possible reason for, the air is full of rumors as to the 
circumstances that drove this unfortunate woman to such a desper- 
ate deed. Her sanity has never been questioned, and to all appear- 
ances her domestic relations were the pleasantest. But many are 
now ready with, " I told you so," and, "Just as I expected," &c. 



HERKIMER COUXTY MURDERS. 25 



Stories of neglect, and ill treatment by the husband are rife. Mr. 
Parkes was not at home when the shooting occurred, and could not 
be found for a couple of hours, a circumstance which gives rise to 
ugly rumors. 

Coroner Suiter impanneled the following jury on Monday, March 
26th, and held an inquest, at the Court House : E. B. Mitchell, fore- 
man ; Isaac F. Small, George H. Gray, S. W. Stimson, Smith C. Har- 
ter, Wm. H. Prowse, A. C. Devendorf, Wm. H. Piske, Sheriff Brown. 

The coroner examined a number of witnesses, among the num- 
ber Mr. Thomas Parkes, the husband. Mr. Parkes at the inquest 
evinced great grief over the affair, and proved to the complete sat- 
isfaction of the large audience present that his love for the deceased 
was great, and his grief profound. He proved also that he was in 
no wise to blame, and received the sympathy of all that heard his 
testimony. The following is the verdict of the coroner's jury: 
"The jury find that Mrs. Eugenia Parkes came to her death from the 
effects of a pistol shot wound inflicted by her own hand, on the 
25th day of March, 1883, between the hours of 8 and 9 p.m., at her 
residence in the village of Herkimer, N. Y. We further find and 
certify that at the time she inflicted said wounds, she was laboring 
under temporary mental abberation. The jury also find that Lulu 
Parkes and Infant Parkes came to their death from the effect of a 
pistol shot wound inflicted upon each of them, on the 25th day of 
March, 1883, by their mother, Mrs. Eugenia Parkes, at her residence 
in the village of Herkimer, N. Y., and that the said Lulu Parkes died 
on the morning of the 26th of March, at one o'clock ; and we further 
find and certify that at the time of the infliction of said wounds, 
said Mrs. Eugenia Parkes was laboring under temporary mental 
abberation." 

A WOMAN INDICTED FOR KILLING HER INFANT CHILD. 

On April 24th, 1884, Miss Sarah Culver was indicted for the 
murder of her illegitimate infant child. The case came up for trial 
before Judge Geo. N. Kennedy, September 8th, 1884. District at- 
torney A. B. Steele conducted the case for the prosecution, Judge 
George W. Smith appearing for the defendant. Judge Smith labored 
hard to secure an acquittal, summed up in a masterly manner, and 
delivered a plea that evidently captured the jury, as that body ren- 
dered a verdict completely exonerating his client. The testimony 
in this case was of the most conflicting nature, and it is hard to say 
whether or not a crime was committed. To the best of my belief, 
from hearing reports of the testimony, the accused was innocent of 
the crime, the charge probably arising from slanders circulated by 
a miserable set of meddlesome busy-bodies. The child very likely 
died naturally immediately after birth, and as the little one was 
ushered into the world with the brand of illegitimacy stamped upon 
its forehead, it was after all, perhaps, the best thing ttat Gould have 



26 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

happened under the circumstances. The only fault I am able to 
discover was the concealment of the infant's birth and death. In 
order that the child's advent into life might not become bruited 
abroad, the body was buried in the cellar, where the bones were 
afterwards found. Sufficient testimony was not found to insure a 
conviction, and in the opinion of many now resident of Herkimer, 
the woman was justly acquitted: 

THE MURDER OF JOHN WISHART, NEAR FRANKFORT. 

The Italian, Frank Mondon, and the Two Wisharts Held for 

the Crime. 

The body of John Wishart was found, May 8th , 1884, on that 
portion of the Mohawk flats east of Frankfort, owned by Sanford 
Gretman. The corpse was discovered in a ditch by the murdered 
man's son, Adam Wishart, who for some time had been engaged in 
searching for the remains. On the right side of the head was a long, 
deep cut, resembling a wound inflicted by some sharp instrument. 
Near by was found a broken club, bearing stains of blood, with 
shreds of skin and a few hairs attached. 

John Wishart was a German, over 70 years of age, and lived 
about a quarter of a mile west of the JST. Y. Central depot-at Frank- 
fort, and in the town of Schuyler. He was last seen alive in the 
village of East Schuyler, about three weeks before the finding of the 
remains. He had not lived happily with his family, consisting of 
his wife, two sons, two daughters, and their husbands. As he had 
a daughter in Utica and a son in Syracuse, it was supposed 
by some that he had gone to one of those cities, and nothing strange 
was thought of his absence. About a week before the finding of the 
corpse inquiries were made in Utica and Syracuse, when it was 
learned that he had not been seen in either place. The people of 
the town began to surmise that Wishart had been foully dealt with, 
and a search being instituted, the body was found, as already 
stated. 

Three of Wishart's daughters were married to Italians. The 
youngest, Louise, had recently married against her father's wishes, 
and, as her husband, Frank Mondon, had been heard to utter 
threats against the old man's life, suspicion very naturally pointed 
towards him as the criminal. It is reported that the mother favored 
the marriage, while the father did all in his power to prevent it. 
John Wishart was looked upon by every one as a temperate, indus- 
trious, and kindly disposed man. He worked as a farm laborer 
whenever he could get work, and as soon as the job was finished 
and he had received his pay he would return home, and be kindly 
treated as long as the money lasted. Home, from being the dearest 
place on earth, became to him a perfect hell. At least such is the 
report. His son, Adam, who found the remains, is reported to have 



HERKIMER COUKTY MURDERS. 27» 

taken his father's part, and treated him kindly. Immediately after 
the discovery of the body, district attorney A. B. Steele, and Coro- 
ner Robert Warner, of Ilion, were notified, and went to Frankfort 
that same evening. Soon after, Deputy Sheriff Delos V. Finster and 
Police Constable A. Frank Clark, of Frankfort, began a search for 
Mondon. The supposed murderer was found at the Wishart house, 
in bed, and owing to the peculiar reputation of other members of 
the family, it was deemed advisable to arrest Mondon's wife, Louise, 
Mrs. Nancy Wishart, the widow, some 60 years of age, and a son, 
Frederick, and his wife. Officer Sylvester Wilson made the arrests, 
and on informing Mrs. Wishart that the Italian was wanted, she 
asked: "What for?" Officer Clark told her that her husband's 
dead body had been found, and she thereupon burst into tears. Her 
daughter, Mondon's wife, proceeded to comfort her by exclaiming: 
" What the h — 1 are you crying about? You must be sick to cry over 
that old fool." The officers took their prisoners to Frankfort, where 
they were arraigned before Justice Ingham and committed. Mon- 
don was placed in the lockup and the others held in custody at the 
Central Hotel. 

Coroner Warner impanneled the following jury, and proceeded 
to hold an inquest: Sanford Getman, foreman, J. L. Osgood, W. 
Durst, W. Campbell, Edward Haner, Eugene Klock, John Krick, 
and Jesse Kingsbury. 

Drs. G. N. Lehr and W. H. H. Parkhurst, both of Frankfort, 
made a post mortem examination. 

The inquest commenced at six o'clock, Thursday, and continued 
until Saturday afternoon, when it was adjourned until Monday. 
The prisoners remained in jail in Herkimer, under the care of Sheriff 
Brown, over Sunday. 

The following is a brief synopsis of the testimony elicited by the 
coroner : 

Sanford Getman. 

"It was about three weeks ago that I last saw the deceased 
alive ; on Thursday last I saw Adam Wishart running down the 
flats ; I asked him what the matter was ? He replied : ' ' My father is 
down there in the ditch, dead"; I went there and found the body ; 
Adam told me that the Italian, Mondon, had threatened to kill his 
father three or four times ; I had let them have some land to work 
there ; John Wishart at present had no home, as I understood that 
the family had turned him out of the house ; Wishart told me so 
himself ; I do not know where he stayed after he was turned out ; 
the place where the body lay was not frequented by people ; noticed 
a cut on the head ; a man standing in the ditch could not be seen 
from any of the houses near, because of bushes growing on the 
side ; Wishart at one time told me that his wife had threatened to 
kill him ; she kicked him out doors ; that he slept on the floor and 



28 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

they did not give him any covering ; never saw him drink or heard 
of his drinking." 

Adam Wishart. 

" Am a son of the deceased, and last saw him alive about three 
weeks ago, on the creek bridge, in the afternoon ; don't remember 
what he said ; he had lived very unhappily at home ; Mondon and 
my sister had been married about four months ; father told me that 
tue Italian had threatened his life ; that Mondon said that he would 
catch him on the bridge some dark night and throw him into the 
river ; I have been searching for him since Monday ; I had my sus- 
picions that he had been killed ; I started for the village to procure 
hooKS to drag the river ; my sister, Julia Coach, told me to go along 
by Getnian's and look there ; I went and found the body ; I did not 
say anything to the Italian about it, as I was afraid he would run 
awav before the officers could arrest him; I have had trouble with 
my mother • I told her, if they would put that Italian out, that 
father would provide for the family ; she ordered me to mind my 
own business ; I saw part of an envelope near the body, picked it 
up and gave it to my wife ; don't know whether father had any 
money with him." 

At the request of the district attorney, witness asked his wife 
for the envelope, but she replied that she had burned it. 

" I recognized the body by the pants and boots, before I saw the 
face ; had no reason to believe that the body was there ; did not 
hear my brothers and sisters, living at home, make any inquiry 
about father's absence." 

Mrs. Nancy Hagen 

Said that " she last saw deceased coming: down the railroad track 
from his house ; two men were with him, dressed in grayish clothes ; 
don't know them ;■ don't know the Italian who married Louise ; the 
men stepped over Getman's fence and went down the river ; one 
had a black cap ; did not notice the other one ; about the same 
height ; Adam Wishart was not one of them ; did not see them come 
back; did not see an axe or anything with them ; don't know the day 
of the week ; know it was not Sunday." 

Frank Mondon, 

The Italian accused of the murder, testified as follows : Have been 
in this country two years ; lived at Frankfort ten or eleven months ; 
worked on West Shore tracks ; lived with Mr. Wishart two or three 
months ; married his daughter, Louise ; John Wishart was at home 
last time four or five weeks ago ; one of the brothers said John had 
gone to Syracuse ; saw him go to Michael Coach's ; he did not come 
back ; John had no trouble with me ; Will and John had a fight 
one night when Louise and I were in bed ; Will wanted to fight with 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 29 

me j I did not go down the river with John; don't know where 
John went. 

A club formed from the dried limb of a tree and broken in two 
pieces, was shown witness. Being asked if he killed John with 
that ? he replied : 

"Me stay nota in this place if me fisa John with that; me no 
go backa to Wishat's." 

Michael Coach, 

An Italian son-in-law of Wishart's, testified : Been in this country 
nine and one-half years ; work on railroad ; saw Wishart last alive 
three weeks ago on bridge near the house ; he stayed with me when 
he could not get in his own house ; he said that his life had been 
threatened by Frank ; about four months ago Frank said he would 
give old John a good licking ; Wishart never liked Frank ; I did not 
try to find body, as I have been out of town looking for work ; have 
not been in Wishart's house for three or four months ; heard Mrs. 
Wishart say about four months ago that she did not want him 
around ; have heard Louise tell him to get out of the house ; haven't 
spoken to Louise sino© she was married. 

Joe Frank, 

Another Italian son-in-law, was called as interpreter, and Frank 
again put on the stand : I saw John last three weeks ago, in front 
of house, on railroad bridge ; a German was with him ; have seen 
the German since inJFrankfort; don't know his name; he wore a 
black cap and had a black moustache ; never saw these clubs before ; 
never did Wishart any harm ; don't know anything about who 
killed him ; never threatened to lick the old man ; never told Coach 
I would. 

Alonzo Wishart, 

A son of deceased : Live at Coach's ; saw father last three weeks ago ; 
was at home one night during past two weeks ; asked where father 
was ; didn't ask mother ; didn't ask Louise ; have not much to say 
to her ; heard about the finding of father's body on Thursday after- 
noon ; did not tell them at the house ; I didn't help put my father 
in the ditch ; heard my sister say the body must be there ; it was 
talked over a couple of days ; didn't know why Michael did not go 
down with Adam ; guess he was afraid. 

District attorney— Afraid that he would find the body ? 

Witness, nodding his head and laughing — I guess so ; never 
heard father say he didn't want Louise to marry Frank ; Louise 
said she wanted him and she got him ; don't know how old I am ; 
only went to school four weeks ; don't know whether father and the 
boys ever had trouble. 



30 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

Mrs. Hattie Wishart, 
Wife of Adam: Last saw deceased three weeks ago; he brought 
flour to our house, and I baked bread for him next day ; he talked 
of going to Syracuse ; was at father's house but once since Louise 
was married ; heard Frank say once, " G-d d — n him, we'll fix him 
in one lick;" Mike and John were present at the time ; .the only 
time I ever heard him threaten father ; don't understand much that 
he says ; Adam said Thursday morning, he didn't see where father 
could be, and I suggested that he look for him, where he had been 
working. 

The inquest then adjourned until Monday. On Monday it was 
resumed, and then adjourned until Friday. The knife of Wishart 
was found on the Italian ; it was also proved that he and Wishart 
quarreled on the day he was missed, and that the Italian followed 
him down the railroad track. 

Augustus Clifford 

Testified that : He lives about 20 rods from the Wishart house : saw 
deceased last about 4 or 5 weeks ago ; while passing the house on the 
17th of April, in the afternoon, heard the voiq^ of a woman crying ; 
it was the most agonizing cry I ever heard ; I heard a voice crying, 
" Oh they have killed "; don't know whose voice it was ; saw Alonzo 
Faulkner and his sister pass the house ; asked them what the matter 
was; he replied, "Oh, they are having one of their spells at the 
Wishart house ; when I looked back Mrs. Wishart was standing in 
the doorway ; still heard the same voice crying ; don't think it was 
Louise ; it was a woman's voice ; I had not seen John Wishart that 
day or since. 

Mrs. Nancy Wishart, 

The widow, testified substantially as follows: "Last saw my hus- 
band about four weeks ago ; do not remember of standing in the 
doorway on Thursday morning ; was not at home at that time ; 
Frank Mondon was crying in the barn several days before ; he and 
his wife, Louise, had some words and he struck her with a stick ; 
Mondon was jealous, and twitted her about an Italian she met last 
fall ; he told her she could have the Italian if she wanted to ; she 

replied that she didn't have to ; she then called him a 

; he would not take that, and struck her across the back, twice, 

with a switch ; I heard Mr. Clifford say that he heard crying ; I did 
not hear it when at the house ; Mondon often had crying spells in 
the barn, in fact he rarely did anything else but cry ; Louise and 
Frank occasionally had words about men and women ; the first 
time he struck her was before the old man went away ; they often 
twitted one another, and afterwards she Would go to the bedroom 
and he would follow her ; they would remain half an hour, and 
after they came out she would be just as pleasant as ever ; Frank 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 31 



would cry because of his jealousy ; I did not see Mr. Clifford pass 
the house ; I saw Mr. Faulkner and his sister pass the house ; John 
stayed in the house that night ; I saw the old man the next week 
after we gave the dance, on the Monday night following Easter Sun- 
day ; he was at the house in the morning ; started west on Thurs- 
day ; the old man asked me to bake bread ; the last morning I saw 
him we had a few words, and he then left and went west ; I went 
out and milked ; when I came back Bessie was the only one there ; 
when Louise got up she wanted to know what the oid man wanted ; 
I told her he wanted bread ; Frank had not come from the bedroom 
at the time ; John had said that the Italian had a wife in Italy, and 
that he would be made to suffer some time ; at no time during the 
morning did Frank see John ; I was the first one up that morning ; 
I saw him have a pocket-book last winter ; he lost his knife, but 
bought another ; Louise was crying in the room when Faulkner and 
bis sister passed by ; do not remember to have heard her say : " Oh ! 
they have killed"; she often had crying spells when Frank went 
away, and once said that she would kill herself ; when Faulkner 
went by she said, "Oh, dear," or something like that ; I don't know 
where Lon was ; think John was home the night Fa,ulkner went 
by; will not swear that Frank went away the day that' John did ; 
I remember that Frank went to look for work the week that John 
was found ; John came to the house the night of the dance ; I went 
in the room where the dancing was ; I was dancing with the Italian ; 
John said we ought to be ashamed ; John took three chairs and a 
water pail and placed them near the door ; he pounded around by 
the door, and took a window light out ; Fred took hold of John by 
the collar, and put him out and locked the door after him ; I told 
him to ; no one touched John except Fred ; Frank knew of the dis- 
turbance, but was not near John ; Frank did not raise a club at 
him ; Lon was full and foolish, and wanted to get at him, but was 
held back by the Italians ; when Fred went at the old man the 
music stopped, but the row did not break up the dance ; Lon had 
often threatened the old man, but I never saw him strike him ; never 
heard Frank threaten to strike him ; have known Louise to 
misuse and throw stones at her father ; all the children have had 
words with their father ; at the house one day, when Frank went 
after Jwater, Louise ■ followed him and John followed her ; John 
struck at Frank with a club, but Louise caught the force of the 
blow ; Frank wanted to get at the old man then, but Louise held 
him; no one held the old man; Frank said to Louise : " Let me 
go"; Louise said: "Don't you fix any fight for the old man," and 
Frank said that he wouldn't." 

The club found near the murdered man's body was exhibited, 
but Mrs. Wishart denied that it was the one about to be used at the 
time. 



32 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

" There was no fuss between me and my husband after he found 
me in the cellar with men ; he twitted me about it, and I told him 
it was none of his business ; John slept up stairs ; I have not slept 
with him since New Year's." 

District attorney Steele: "Mrs. Wishart, will you swear that 
your husband was not killed in the house ?" 

',' Yes, sir; I am as innocent of this crime as a child two years old; 
I did not say that the ' ' dirty old toad had gone off with his clothes 
on ;" did not hear Louise say that she wished the old cuss was dead ; 
at the time of my arrest, I did not slap Frank on the shoulder and 
say, " They have found old John;" Louise did not say, "Mother, 
don't cry about the old fool;" I did not know what I was arrested 
for." 

This concluded her testimony. Several times during the exam- 
ination she appeared worried and perspired so exceedingly, that she 
was kept busy wiping the perspiration from her face. The woman 
is very cunning, and undoubtedly knows more about the killing of 
her husband than she is willing to admit. 

On Saturday evening the jury handed in the following verdict : 
. "On the 17th day of April, 1884, at the town of Schuyler, in said 
county of Herkimer, one Frank Mondon did strike the said John 
Wishart with a club or other heavy instrument, which he then and 
there held in his hand, feloniously and with malice aforethought, 
and with intent to kill the said John Wishart, and that the said 
Frank Mondon, at the time and place aforesaid, wilfully, feloniously, 
and of malice aforethought, the said John Wishart did kill and 
murder ; and the jurors aforesaid, upon their oaths, do further say 
that Nancy Wishart and Louise Mondon abetted, aided and coun- 
seled the said Frank Mondon in the commission of the said offense, 
and in the killing and murdering of the said John Wishart, at the 
time and in the manner above set forth." 

Signed. 
Among other witnesses were Alonzo Wishart, Mike Coach, Harris 
Lewis, Alonzo M. Lintz, Fred Wishart, Louise Mondon, Sheriff 
Brown, E. H. Minott, Alonzo Faulkner, Horace L~igham, James H. J. 
Watkins. 

The result of the post mortem and the finding of the clubs make 
the case beyond a doubt, one of murder. The head bore marks of a 
severe blow from behind, causing a fracture of the skull on the left 
side. On the club picked up near by, were found a few hairs, cor- 
responding in color to that of the deceased. On one of the pieces is 
a sort of knot or place where a branch had been cut off, which exact- 
ly fitted an indentation in the back of the head. 

The Wishart family, who were examined as witnesses, can neither 
read or write, and some of them did not understand the nature of an 
oath. The Italian speaks but very little English, and it was hard 
for the coroner to understand his testimony. 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 33 

After the conclusion of the inquest the prisoners were taken to 
Herkimer jail, where they now remain in charge of Sheriff Brown 

At a session of the grand jury, in the following November, th it 
body found a true bill of murder in the first degree against the 
Italian, and indicted Nancy Wishart as accessory. The case went 
over the term, and will come up for trial this present term of court. 

As Mondon had no counsel the court assigned ex-District Attor- 
ney J. J. Dudleston, Jr. Mr. Dudleston is a good lawyer, and will 
do everything in his power to secure a verdict of acquittal, 

Mrs. Nancy Wishart retained the Hon. S. S. Morgan as counsel, 
but as that celebrated criminal lawyer is lately deceased, she his 
now secured the services of Dexter E. Pomeroy, of Utica, Mr. Pouie- 
roy is a well known lawyer, and is possessed of a clear head, g<>od 
legal knowledge and excellent judgment. District attorney Steele 
will conduct the case for the people, and as all are equally confident 
of success, the trial is sure to prove an interesting one. 

No indictment was found against Louise, the Italian's wife, but 
she is still retained as a witness, at the county jail. 

WAS IT A MURDER? 

The Mysterious Disappearance of Chas. R. Dartoy from the 
Tillage of Ilion. 

Chas. R. Darby, a well known collector and accountant, disap- 
peared from the village of Ilion during the month of November, 
1884. 

Darby was an inoffensive man, his only fault being a too great 
fondness for spirituous liquors. His chief occupation was acting 
as collector for different merchants of the town, and also posting 
their books, as often as the necessities of the case seemed to demand. 
Darby was often known to have in his possession large sums of 
money, but as his honesty was unquestionable, his continued ab- 
sence at length aroused the suspicion of his friends. Various con- 
jectures, of one kind and another, were made in regard to his where- 
abouts. It was reported that he had been seen at different points 
in the west, but an inquiry being made the reports were found to be 
without a basis of fact. It was said that his financial masters were 
perfectly straight, and those delightful mortals who prefer a choice 
bit of gossip to anything else in the world, were therefore forced to 
change their theory of his absence. 

All doubts were rudely dispelled on Tuesday forenoon, Decem- 
ber the 2d. When the water of the Erie Canal was drawn off for the 
winter, all that was mortal of poor Charlie Darby was found in its 
muddy bed. There is no doubt but that his body went into the 
canal at the lock west of Ilion, and that during its stay of two weeks 
in the water, it passed along to the place where it was found. As 
the canal had been thoroughly dragged it was strange that the re- 
mains were not found before. 



34 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

The battered appearance of the corpse led to the arrest of one 
or more parties known to have been with Darby on the evening of 
his disappearance, but no one was retained or lodged in jail. The 
body on being found was taken to the rooms of Undertaker Chatta- 
way and the following jury at once impanneled by Coroner Warner : 
S. T. Russell, foreman, W. J. Lewis, Fred Coleman, Joseph Summers, 
Wm. Onyans, J. B. Wilde, Alexander Jess, Joseph Taylor, J. K. P. 
Harris. Drs. Rasbach and Draper held an autopsy at the request of 
the coroner. The lungs were found full of air, showing that the 
victim had not met his death by drowning ; this, with the fact that 
his money and watch and chain were missing, led to the arrests be- 
fore mentioned. The inquest commenced on Wednesday morning, 
at Justice Lester's office, and was adjourned until Friday. The evi- 
dence all proved that Darby had been last seen on or about Novem- 
ber 18th, but no light was thrown upon the supposed murder. The 
following is the testimony of Dr. Rasbach, corroborated by Dr. E. 
M. Draper, the two physicians who performed the post mortem: 

" I knew Darby ; made a post mortem, assisted by Dr. Draper ; 
found extensive fracture of bones of skull, laceration of the menen- 
gese covering the brain, laceration of the brain substance, fracture 
of both upper and lower jaw bones, fracture of the right thigh, and 
compound fracture of the left tibia and fibula; found the lungs 
fully inflated with air ; no water in the bronchial tubes or in the 
air cells ; the amount of air in the lungs was sufficient to buoy him; 
think the majority of the cuts on his head were received after he 
was in the water ; I don't think that if he was drowned the lungs 
would be inflated with air ; I don't believe that he respired after he 
entered the water ; I think he received injuries before he was sub- 
merged, probably of the skull ; don't think he could have received 
the injuries he had on the head through his hat ; I should expect to 
find the lungs of a drowned person partially filled with water, or, 
if not, in a condition of collapse ; I think falling on stone could 
have produced the injuries on the head, had he fallen fifteen feet ; 
I would not expect to find that kind of injury from a club ; I believe 
he died from surgical shock, due to extreme violence, before sub- 
mersion ; I should judge the body had been in the water two 
weeks ; the heart was not taken out, but it seemed large." 

The evidence presented on Friday proved that Darby had money 
on his person, and also a good watch and chain when last seen. 
None of these were found upon him, and as the battered appearance 
of the body indicated foul play, the jury, after a short session, re- 
turned with the following verdict : 

"That in the opinion of this jury, Chas. R. Darby came to his 
death at the hands of some person or persons unknown to this jury, 
and that the body was afterwards thrown into the Erie Canal, be- 
tween the store of J. C. Brizolara at East Frankfort and the Mo- 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



hawk locks, on or after the evening of the 18th day of November, 
1884." 

Chas. H. Williams, a colored man, was arrested for the crime, 
but easily proved bis innocence, and was honorably discharged. 
This murder — if indeed it can be called a murder — bids fair to re- 
main forever veiled in impenetrable obscurity. It is supposed by 
many that Darby received his death by falling from the tow-path 
into the canal, his head accidentally coming in contact with a rock, 
and was probably dead before he struck the water. 

THE DRUSE BUTCHERY. 

The Most Horrible Murder on Record.— William Druse, of War- 
ren, Killed, Butchered and the Body Burned in Stoves. — 
The Wife, Daughter, Son and Nephew Arrested 
for the Crime. 

Herkimer county, during the past few years, has been gradually 
coming into prominence as the scene of horrible murders. The an- 
nals of criminal history contain many terrible crimes, but it was 
thought that every known method of committing a homicide had 
long since been exhausted. It remained for the little town of Warren 
to produce another feature, and she has responded in a way that 
leaves nothing to be desired by people of a morbid turn of mind, or 
lovers of the horrible. 

The details of the crime are almost too terrible for contemplation, 
but that the ends of justice may be attained, and a full knowledge 
of the facts placed before the public, I deem it best to present a true 
and unvarnished statement of the affair. 

In an old dingy yellow farm house, about a quarter of a mile 
from the main road, and near the village of Little Lakes, on the 18th 
day of last December, was committed one of the most horrible mur- 
ders known to the annals of crime. Wm. Druse, a farmer 60 years 
of age, was shot, and his body hacked to pieces by an infuriated wife 
and her children. 

Wm. Druse disappeared from home on the 18th day of December. 
The day following his house was locked up, none of the family seen 
about, and forth from the chimney poured a dense black smoke, fill- 
ing the air around the place with a very offensive odor. A number 
of the neighbors noticed the smoke at the time, and as days rolled 
by, and Druse's absence became manifest, curious surmises were 
made in regard to his whereabouts. Surmises became rumors, ru. 
mors finally became facts, and at last it was openly asserted that 
Druse had been murdered. 

At this stage of the proceedings, district attorney A. B. Steele, 
of Herkimer, was sent for, and on his arrival made acquainted with 
such facts as the neighbors had gleaned. Mr. Steele immediately 
caused the arrest of Frank Gates, a nephew of the deceased, and by 



£G HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

clint of severe cross- questioning, succeeded in compelling the youth 
to confess his participation in the murder. The district attorney at 
tree telephoned to Dr. I. 0. Nellis, one of the three coroners of this 
county; that gentleman arriving on the scene early Friday morn- 
ing, January the 16th. As the boy's confession implicated others, 
orders were given for the arrest of Roxy Druse, the wife, Mary Druse, 
a daughter, George Druse, a son, and on Saturday, Rosy Druse's 
brother-in-law, Chas. Gates. 

The boy's confession is substantially as follows : He states, that 
Roxy after the old gentleman was through the morning chores, sent 
the two boys, Frank and George out of the room, and coming up 
behind Druse while he was seated at the breakfast table, fired one shot 
from a revolver into the back of his neck ; two more shots were also 
fired by her, but their location at present is uncertain; she then 
called Frank in and placing the pistol at his head ordered him to 
Complete the deed, threatening at the same time should he refuse, to 
kill him at once, he took the revolver and fired one shot into Druse's 
;b ick. The supposition is, that Mary, the daughter, was at this time 
^holding a rope that was fastened around her father's neck, and that 
*he was the one that dragged him from the chair to the floor. After 
.the last shot was fired Frank brought Mrs. Druse an ax, with which 
•fhe struck her husband twice on the head, he exclaiming at the same 
time, "Oh, Roxy, don't !" The second blow probably killed him, as 
lie never spoke again. The woman then severed the head from the 
body, and, as she said, threw it into the kitchen stove. 

After the murder Frank brought from up stairs a large tick filled 
with straw, and assisted Mrs. Druse in placing the body of her dead 
busband upon it, and together they carried the corpse into the par- 
lor. Frank and George were then sent down to the brush lot after 
a sharp ax. They returned with the article and gave it to the woman. 
The boys were kept busy bringing skingles with which hot fires were 
built in both the parlor and kitchen stoves. The murderess then 
took the sharp ax, a razor, a jack knife, a board and a chopping 
block. She carried these into the parlor, and there proceeded to 
dismember the body. 

The arms were first cut off, and then the l9gs ; she chopped 
the limbs into small pieces and threw them into the parlor stove. 
Tue body was then placed on the block and hacked and cut until 
ghe was enabled to get all the pieces into the kitchen stove. Frank 
Bays the ashes and pieces of burned bone were carried by his aunt 
and himself the next day to Ball's swamp, distant about half a mile 
from the house. The Druse family now under arrest, consist of 
Rosy Druse, about 45 years of age. The woman has black hair and 
eyes, pinched features, sallow complexion, and sharp hooked nose, 
fehe is about five feet four inches in height. Mary Druse, the daugh- 
ter, is about 20 years old ; George Druse, 10 years, and Frank Gates, 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 37 



14 — a whole family in crime. They were first taken to the residence 
of Jeremiah Eckler, about one-quarter of a mile distant from the 
scene of the murder. By the boy's confession Coroner Nellis was 
able to discover the nearly destroyed remains in Ball's swamp. He 
then impanneled the following coroner's jury : 

Chas. McRorie. foreman ; Charles Pett, Chas. Bond, Geo. L. 
Rathburn, Alonzo Filkins, Rozelle Warren, James Hall, Frank 
Springer, and Chester Armstrong, all of the town of Warren. Cor- 
oner Nellis summoned Drs. A. D. Getman and W. P. Borland, of 
Richfield Springs, to examine the remains. These consisted of the 
contents of a small box, a mass of dirt, wood ashes and small pieces 
of bone, all frozen together in a solid mass. There were about 18 to 
20 small pieces of bone, from one inch to two inches long. The two 
patellas or knee caps, were found, as also the upper end of the left 
tibia or lower leg bone, showing two articular surfaces, thereby 
proving conclusively that the bones were human. 

Mrs. Druse's brother-in-law, Chas. Gates, is claimed by some to 
be implicated, as she asserts that he assisted in the killing, firing 
several shots from his own revolver, and that the officers would find 
two kinds of bullets in the ashes, apparently forgetting the fact that 
lead would not long exist in a bullet form where there was a very 
hot fire. Drs. Getman and Borland were examined in regard to the 
ashes and bones being human. They testified that in their judgment 
the remains were those of a human body. 

The coroner's inquest was until Saturday noon, the 17th, held in 
the Eckler cheese house. At that hour the coroner adjourned to the 
town hall at Little Lakes, in order to accommodate the large crowd 
that the proceedings had brought into town. District attorney A. B. 
Steele assisted the coroner in the examination of the witnesses. As 
the testimonygis voluminous, and would take up more space than a 
work of this kind would warrant, I will condense the evidence into 

A GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Jeremiah Eckler. 

Has lived in Warren 28 years ; knew the deceased ; knew that 
he'was missing, and on December 18th saw black smoke pouring out 
of the chimney, and perceived a very bad odor. The forepart of 
January he asked Mrs. Druse where William was ? She said, in New 
York ; they quarreled frequently. 

Charles Pett. 

Live near ; knew that Druse was missing ; saw dense black 
smoke on December 18th pouring out of chimney ; went there first 
last Saturday ; saw stoves ; went there again, asked where Druse 
was, and told her of the reports that he had been murdered ; she 
said they were false; saw new paper on walls; asked Gates boy 
where William was ; he said, gone away ; told Mrs. Druse a boy had 



58 HERKIMER COUKTY MURDERS. 



found an ax ; she said she supposed that the other tools were under 
the snow ; on Thursday went to Herkimer and brought the district 
attorney, A. B. Steele, to my house. 

Wm. Eckler, 
Son of Jeremiah Eckler : Remembers smoke ; color dark, bad 
smell, like burned meat ; have heard no threats made by Mrs. Druse 
against her husband. 

Fred Vrooinan, 

Found an ax in mill pond, near the bridge, (ax shown); it is the 
same ax ; it was wrapped in a copy of the N. Y. weekly Tribune; no 
name on paper ; got it out next day. 

Alonzo Filkins. 

Knew Druse; went to house Thursday afternoon, after a hay 
knife he borrowed ; knocked at the door, but could not get in ; news- 
papers up at windows ; heard talking inside ; could not see in ; went 
last evening about 9 o'clock, and found burned remains in Ball's 
swamp ; carried them to Chas. Pett's. The party who informed us 
went direct to place and pointed out the substance we brought away ; 
it was lightly covered with snow. Frank Grates worked at Druse's 
for his board. 

The district attorney then asked Frank Grates if he was willing to 
tell all that he knew in reference to the murder, without any prom- 
ise on the part of the people. He answered, "Yes, sir," and was told 
to proceed, which he did as follows, substantially: 

Frank Gates. 
Last summer Mrs. Druse and Mary wanted to hire me to shoot 
Druse ; they said they would give me a good many dollars for doing 
it; 1 told them I would not ; there was nothing more said, but this 
winter Mrs. Druse and William had a good many words. On Thurs- 
day before Christmas, in the morning, William asked me to get up 
and build the fire; I did so. Mrs. Druse and Mary then got up. 
William went out and did the chores ; asked if I should help ; said 
he would do them himself ; when he came in to breakfast, he sat 
down to the table ; I was nearly through ; Mrs Druse told me to 
hurry up ; I did so ; I asked her what she wanted ; she told me and 
George to go out doors and not go far from the house ; heard a noise 
three or four times, and then she came and called me ; she had a re- 
volver, and she handed it to me and told me to shoot William or she 
would shoot me ; she put the revolver against my nose as she told 
me this; I did so : he was sitting in a chair or on the floor ; I was 
excited, could not tell which, and then she took the revolver and 
shot until the loads were all out ; then she took the ax and pounded 
William on thie head; William said, "0/*, Boxy, don't!" then she 
chopped his head off, and sent me and (ieorge up stairs after a straw 



HKRKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 39 



tick ; she dragged hint on to it, and she told me I should help drag 
him in the parlor, and she asked me to come in there ; I told her I 
couldn't ; then she sent me and George down to the brush lot after 
the sharp ax; we came back, she took it in the other room and shut 
the door; told me and George to go up stairs, then she called us 
down again, and sent us after some shingles to the hog pen ; she 
built up a hot fire in both stoves, then had me look out the north 
window, and Mary out of south window ; then she took a block in 
the parlor and a board and chopped him up, as I suppose she did, 
and put him in the fire. Then afterwards told me to put some shin- 
gles in the kitchen stove. I saw a large bone, and the next day she 
took the ashes up and put them into a tin spit box which Rudolph 
Van Evra had used, and put some of the ashes in a bag ; then she 
told me to hitch up the horse, as she was going to Mr. Gates'; we all 
went. When we got into Mr. Ball's swamp, about two rods from 
the track, she told me to carry the ashes ; I did so, then went to my 
house, taken sick and stayed there until Sunday, when I came back. 
Mrs. Druse told me to get the new ax and saw the handle off ; I did 
so, and Mary burned the handle; then I went to Richfield Springs 
with Mrs. Druse ; when we got back to Weatherbee's mill pond, she 
threw the ax in ; when we got up a little further, she told me to take 
the revolver and throw it into the pond ; also the jack knife, or I 
would be sorry if I didn't ; she threw the razor blade side of the 
fence. I did throw the revolver and knife in the pond. Last night 
I went with Mr. Filkins, district attorney, Clarence Marshall and 
Daniel McDonald to Ball's swamp where I left the ashes ; I showed 
the ashes to the men ; they put them in a box and brought them to 
Mr. Pett's ; I saw the box on table to-day in this room ; I went 
again to-day with Marshall, McDonald and two'strangers, said to be 
Doctors ; they got all the ashes we could not find last night ; I then 
went to the pond and showed them as near as I could where the re- 
volver was, then came home ; the revolver was found in the pond ; 
I did not see the revolver only as Mr. Marshall put it in bis pocket ; 
there was a newspaper around the ax when it was thrown into the 
pond ; I saw it when it went in ; I would know the ax ; it was a 
new ax, with small nicks in it, when I brought it from the woods ; 
sawed the handle off next to the ax, about an inch from the ax ; the 
handle was wedged in ; think he bought the ax at Ricfield Springs ; 
think Druse put the wedge in at Mr. Pett's ; don't know what pa- 
per was around the ax ; examining the ax, I think that is Druse's 
ax. 

District attorney — What makes you think so ? 

" Because it looks like the ax I sawed the handle off from. All 
axes do not look alike. I know this ax by the nicks in the blade, 
and the handle being sawed off. Think the ax had no rust or 
stains on it when I brought it; it has spots on it now." 



40 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 

Was shown a revolver; " That is the one, sir, I know the revol- 
ver by the stamped handle and cylinder. The revolver was loaded 
when thrown into the pond; don't know who loaded it; I know it 
was loaded, because I saw it. Mrs. Druse told me she got the revol- 
ver last fall; she did not say what she got it for." 

When I went out of the room at the time Mrs. Druse called me back 
I left in the room Mrs. Druse, Mary and William; he was eating his 
breakfast when I went back; his back was towards the outside door. 
No one else had been there that morning that I know of. Mary was 
in the kitchen, walking backward and forward between the buttery 
and parlor door. When I came back in the house, I noticed blood 
on the back of William's neck, and on the floor; I saw the blood be- 
fore I fired the revolver. When Mrs. Druse called me, I think he 
was sitting in the chair, his head was leaning over; I think Mary 
had the rope around his neck when I came in and was holding him; 
when I shot the revolver off William made no noise. 

By district attorney — Supposing Mr. Pett to be William, show 
us how you pointed the revolver ? Witness points at Mr. Pett with 
left hand. District attorney — Were you frightened ? Ans. " I was 
when I shot the revolver off; don't know what Mary was doing; 
Mrs. Druse was behind me; she talked fast when she told me to 
shoot, but not much faster than usual. George was in the door, I 
think. After I shot the revolver off, Mrs. Druse took it. 

When I went out of the house I did not know they were going 
to kill Druse. I did not know what to think when she told me to 
go out and not go far away. When Mrs. Druse took the revolver I 
don't know how many times she shot him; she shot him after I did; 
I think it hit him. 

District attorney— What makes you think she hit him ? " Be- 
cause I could find no holes in the floor or wall." 

District attorney — O, then you must have hit him ? " Yes sir." 
" Did you look to see ? " 
" Yes, I looked in the wall." 
" What made you do that ? " 
" Because I wanted to know if he was hit." 

Druse fell on the floor; I did not see him fall, I saw him after- 
wards; his head was near the stove leg; he fell over to the left, his 
face was towards the stove leg; I saw the top of his head from where 
I stood. She cut his head off before I went after the sharp ax; she 
eut it off with an old as. She said she put his head in the stove 
first. I don't know where Mary was when she cut the head off; 
George was up stairs; George did not cry; Mary did on the start. 
Don't know where the rope came from; I think it was used as a 
clothesline; Mrs. Druse said she burned the rope up; she said she 
tmrned up his vest, inside coat, black overcoat, hat, pants and 
boots. The bone I saw was in the kitchen stove; it measured about 
three inches thick, and about fourteen inches long; Mary had the 



HKRKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 41 



bone; there was some flesh on the ends. I heard them outting in 
the parlor; Mrs. Druse was there alone. There were brass buttons 
on the under coat. Mrs. Druse said she saw Mr. Filkins pass; there 
were newspapers at the windows. I have only heard Jerry Eckler 
testify. No one has told me what any one else has sworn to to-day. 
My father told me William Elwood came to the house and rapped; 
no one answered. They did not want any one to come in and see 
what they were doing (evidently not). They were cleaning up the 
floor. They had big fires to burn Druse up. They had the big boil- 
er on the stove to heat water; I don't know who filled the boiler, 
think Mrs. Druse did. I saw water only in the boiler, nothing else. 
They did not boil any part of the body that I know of. I smelled a 
bad smell, like meat burning. Mrs. Druse quarreled that morning. 
I heard Bill say there would be some arrangements made before 
night. Mary talked low to her mother; Mrs. Druse blowed too; I 
could hear what they said; I don't know what Mr~. Druse wanted 
to get rid of Bill for; I heard her say once, " I wish he was gone, 
because he's so ugly." He was ugly sometimes; she was ugly too, 
sometimes. I heard them blow each other at times— I mean scold. 
They did not sleep together; she said she had not slept with him in 
ten years. Rudolph Van Evera has also slept there; he slept in the 
further room up stairs, and they in the front room. George and I 
slept together. Mary slept with her mother. Never saw Van Evera 
carry Mrs. Druse upstairs, nor Mary either; don't know of their be- 
ing up stairs together. My uncle was here from New York one night. 
My mother and Mrs. Druse are sisters. The knife handle Mrs. Druse 
burned; Mrs. Druse knew they would know it was his knife; there 
was blood on it, but she washed it off; she burned up the razor han- 
dle; I think it was all right before; don't know why she burned it; 
she had no saw, she cut him up with the ax, jack-knife and razor. 
I think I saw blood on her hands; she washed her hands in the 
kitchen, and then threw the water in the swill pail, The hogs fed 
themselves that day, in the barn. I could not see the barn from the 
window I watched at; Mary could from her window. My father 
came there that night at dark, or a little after; Mrs. Druse let him 
in; I was there, don't know where he came from; he came in at 
front door, that opens into the kitchen; the door was not locked, it 
had been locked nearly all day; father rapped, Mrs. Druse went to 
the door, she told him to come in; he most always rapped when he 
came; he sat down and asked for William, if he was at home; she 
said that he had gone to Mose Elwood's. Father said Will Elwood 
was down there to-day and rapped but could not get in. He (El- 
wood) said that he thought Bill had killed them all, and locked him- 
self in, or ran away. My sister said I was not at school, and father 
came to see where I was. I did not tell him what had happened; I 
was afraid of Mrs. Druse; she said the first one that told would get 
shot, and that was the reason I did not tell father. Father was not 



42 HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



in the parlor that night; the boiler had been put away; no paint 
had been put on the floor; water was got from the cistern; I drew 
it at Mrs. Druse's request; that was after I got the ax. 

I told Mr. Pett that William had gone to New York; I told Mr. 
Filkins also — Mrs. Druse told me to; I told them he went on Sun- 
day. Mary and Mrs. Druse had not breakfasted when Bill was kill- 
ed; the revolver was not shot off after I came back with the ax; 
did not know father's revolver was there that day, he had one; Mrs. 
Druse did not want me to go home; my brother said his orders were 
to get me; he said some men at Mr. Pett's wanted to see me; Mrs. 
Druse did not hear this, she had the door locked I think. William 
had a model of a steamer, which they burned up; they burned it so 
no one would find it; they said he took it to New York with him. 

Last summer they asked me to shoot William, but I saw no re- 
volver; they did not tell where the revolver was bought; I don't know 
whether the carpet on the parlor floor was taken up or not; I saw 
no blood on the carpet; carried the ashes away next day; a new 
piece of oilcloth has been put in the parlor. I was at Jerry Eckler's 
the day of the murder, to buy a bunch of matches to make the fire 
with; I got them; I went over after Mr. Filkins and Elwood was 
there; Mr. Eckler did not ask me about the smell; I gave the match- 
es to Mrs. Druse; Mr. Eckler would take no pay for them. I went 
to Mr. Pett's too, before that, for matches; there was no one at 
home; Irving Eckler came there on the morning of the murder for 
an augur; he did not get it; Mr. Druse said it was over to Mr. Eck- 
ler's. Never told of the matter, was afraid Mrs. Druse would shoot 
me; no other reason. The room casing and wood work in the room 
have been painted, and the side walls papered, since the murder, 
and paint put on the floor to hide the blood stains. There had been 
no talk of painting before. Father noticed the smell and asked me 
what it was; I told him nothing. We had two lights that night; 
they were not bright lights. They got the paint in Richfield Springs 
and the paper at Little Lakes. 

William Elwood. 

Knew Druse, knew he was missing; called at the Druse house 
on that Thursday; could not get in; windows covered with newspa- 
pers; noticed heavy smoke. I saw Filkins about twenty rods from 
the house; I saw Charles Grates and told him that I had called at 
Druse's, and that either Bill had killed them all, or they were all 
dead asleep. The rest of his testimony corroborates other state- 
ments. 

George William Stewart Druse. 

The nature of an oath was explained to him by the district at- 
torney. He said he was ten years of age. George described his var- 
ious relatives and then told the story of the murder as follows : On 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 4;'. 

the morning when the pistol was used, Frank and I went to the cor- 
ner of the house; Ma told us to go out; Pa was sitting at the table 
eating his breakfast; Pa did not hear Ma tell us to go out, because 
she whispered; Ma had a revolver in her hand; there was no one in 
the house only Ma, Mary Pa and Frank; don't know where Uncle 
Charley was, did not see him ; we went out; I heard the revolver 
go off; Ma called Frank in; when the revolver went off I knew what 
was being done; Ma said she would hurt Pa; Uncle Charley bought 
the revolver for her; Frank went in and Ma handed the revolver to 
him and told Frank to shoot Pa or she would shoot him; Frank 
shot three times. There was a rope around Pa's neck, and blood on 
the floor; don't know what Mary was doing, think she was in the 
kitchen; Ma hit Pa on the head with an ax; he said, "oh, don't ! " 

The rest of George Druse's testimony is nearly the same as 
Frank's, and corroborates his evidence in nearly all particulars. 
Elisha W. Stannard, Wm. R. Wall, Dr. A. D. Getman, Dr. W. P. 
Booland, Albert Bowen and Chester Crim were sworn, and 
their testimony taken down by the clerk. 

Mrs. Roxy Druse was called to the stand. She said that she did 
not wish to make any statements, but declared afterward that Chas. 
Gates was present when her husband died. 

James Miller, Chas. Gates, James Hall, Walter Buckman, Geo. 
L. Rathbun, Mrs. Lucy Gates, Mrs. Elisha M. Rathburn, Chester 
Gates, Mrs. Louise Elwood, Moses El wood, Idella Gates, Irving 
Eckler, Wm. Elwood, Albert Bowen, Henry Ostrander, Alonzo Fil- 
kins, Moses Elwood, Rudolph Vanevry, Frank Gates, Chas. O'Bri- 
en, Daniel McDonald, Chas. Bond, and Charles Gates were the oth- 
er witnesses examined. Their testimony appears in the Coroner's 
inquest in the order named. The verdict of the jury was as follows: 
" That Wm. Druse came to his death on the 18th day of December, 
1884, at the town of Warren, and that one Roxana Druse did on the 
18th day of December, 1884, between the hours of seven and eleven 
o'clock of the forenoon of that day, in the town of Warren, in said 
county, feloniously and of malice aforethought made an assault up- 
on the body of William Druse then and there present, that the said 
Roxana Druse did shoot William Druse, and also strike him on the 
head with an ax, and did sever his head from his body, of which 
wounds the said William Druse died ; that Roxana Druse did cut 
and burn the body in the stove, and the jurors aforesaid say that 
the said Roxana Druse did murder her husband. That Mary Druse 
the daughter, George Druse the son, and Frank Gates were present, 
and that Frank Gates did fire one or more shots at William Druse, 
and that Mary. George and Frank did comfort, aid and abet Roxa- 
na Druse in committing the felony and murder.'' 

At the conclusion of the inquest sheriff Valentine Brown, who 
was present during the entire proceedings before the coroner, 
placed his four prisoners in a close-covered sleigh and drove rapidly 



44 HERKIMER COUXTT MURDERS. 

over the snowy hills for the county seat. The sheriff left Little Lakes 
about half-past three o'clock on Wednesday afternoon, arriving at 
the Herkimer jail about seven in the evening. During the trip the 
murderess evinced a remarkable degree of nerve, and appeared to be 
totally unconcerned over the situation of affairs. She remarked that 
" whether it turned out state prison for life, or hanging, she would 
never live with Wm. Druse again," meaning probably, that she 
would prefer either, rather than live with her dead husband. Un- 
doubtedly the wish so coolly uttered, will be granted. The other 
prisoners exhibited no care, the two boys especially, amusing them- 
selves by making jovial comments on objects that elicited their 
interest along the road. 

On arriving at the jail they Avere met by a curious crowd, but 
were hurried at once to the general waiting room. After a few mo- 
ments rest, they were informed that their quarters were ready, and 
as Mrs. Druse arose to accompany the jailer she remarked in an off- 
hand manner. "Well, I hope I maybe able to procure to-night 
what I have not had before in two years, a good night's rest." The 
two women were placed in a warm and comfortable room in the 
upper portion of the building, and the two boys on the upper tier, 
in the general quarters assigned to the prisoners. 

A day or two after the arrival of the prisoners, the writer visited 
the jail at Herkimer, and accompanied by Henry Brown, was shown 
to the room of Mrs. Druse and Mary. On entering, we found the 
mother and daughter seated near the heavily barred window, en- 
gaged in close conversation, which was interrupted as we crossed 
the threshold. After the usual preliminary introduction, we seated 
ourselves and at once plunged into the object of our visit. Through- 
out our conversation with her mother, Mary kept her eyes bent on 
the floor, only raising them at intervals to watch her mother's face. 
She said nothing during the interview. We asked her if Charles 
Gates was present when the deed was committed. She replied that 
he was. In response to a question in relation to Charles Gates' 
knowledge of the disposition of the body, she said that he knew 
more about that than any one else, as he was present and after- 
wards assisted in disposing of the remains. She also stated that in 
her opinion Chas. Gates should have been held, as by so doing cer- 
tain things would have been brought out that could not be gained 
otherwise. She was firm in her statement that Gates was present, 
and reiterated the remark two or three times over. She appeared 
cool and unconcerned, and it was evident to the most casual obser- 
ver that very little love existed between herself and husband. She 
appeared to consider that in ridding the world of William Druse, she 
had performed an action that was in the highest degree commenda- 
ble, and that all right minded persons would sympathize with her 
as the victim of circumstances and not as a heartless and cold-blood- 



HKRKIMKR COUNTY MURDERS. 45 



ed murderess. After leaving the cell of this female fiend, we turned 
down stairs, and amid the clanging of innumerable bolts and bars, 
and the clicking of locks, found ourselves on the south tier in the 
ground department. From the midst of the throng of prisoners our 
conductor picked out the two boys, and we called them toward us 
for a talk. Georp;e Druse is about ten years of age, is short in stat- 
ure, round, full form, and at the time of our visit was clad in a blue 
cloth suit and rubber boots. He had a round, full face, indicative 
of fun and good nature, and taken altogether appeared as a bright, 
intelligent boy, who little realized the terrible curse which had fallen 
on the family. He did not have much to say in relation to the affair, 
the sum of his remarks being about the same as already presented 
heretofore. Frank Gates was questioned closely in regard to his con- 
nection with the crime. We asked him if his father, Charles Gates, 
was present when the murder was committed. He replied emphati- 
cally, "No!" We asked him at what time his father visited the 
house, he said, "the same evening," and also stated that his father 
did not learn of the murder of Druse when he called. Frank also 
said that Mrs, Druse had "scared the life out of hiui," that he 
was afraid that she would kill him if he did not do as she ordered ; 
that during the time that Mrs. Druse was cutting up the body she 
repeatedly threatened to kill him if he breathed a word in relation 
to the murder. 

He said that the terrible scene made him so deathly sick to his 
stomach that he was forced to go out doors, where he fainted dead 
away from fright and horror. 

On the 29th day of January the Druses were brought before 
Judge T. C. Murray, when they waived examination, and were again 
remanded to jail. Judge Amos H. Prescott, of Herkimer, for sixteen 
years county judge of this county, has been retained by attorney 
Luce, of Richfield Springs, as associate counsel in the case. 

Considerable excitement was manifested on or about March 20th, 
by the reported finding of the missing head of Wm. Druse, in a sap 
bush located in the town of Warren. The rumor, on investigation, 
proved to be without foundation. But as suspicious circumstances 
tended to prove that something had been hidden in the sap house, 
and then removed, constables Sylvester Wilson and Joseph W. Smith, 
of Herkimer, visited the place, and on a warrant sworn out before 
Judge Helmer by district attorney Steele, arrested William Elwood. 
Elwood protested his innocence, but was brought to Herkimer 
and placed in jail. During his incarceration Elwood's friends suc- 
ceeded in securing the services of Judge George W. Smith and J. A. 
Steele as counsel. Elwood was finally brought before Judge Wm. 
Helmer, and after a short examination was released on bail of 
12,000. 



4G HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 



THE MIDDLEYILLE TRAGEDY. 

Professor S. Clark Smith, of Fairfield, Shot through the Heart by 

Dr. Moritz R. Richter, of Middleville. — Family Troubles 

at the Bottom of the Affair. 

There is an old French saying, to the effect, " That one murder 
or suicide in a locality is sure to be followed by another." Herki- 
mer county has given us a realizing sense of its truth, as the foul 
demon of murder has run riot over its fair surface during the past 
year. 

Following rapidly on the heels of the Druse butchery comes the 
Middleville tragedy. The people of the county were still engaged in 
using the Druse affair as a subject of conversation when they were 
startled to learn that another capital crime had been added to the 
already long list. The particulars of this murder are still fresh in 
the minds of the people, and are substantially as follows : 

On the 28th day of last February, Dr. Moritz R. Richter, a Ger- 
man physician, resident of the village of Middleville, shot and killed 
Professor S. Clark Smith, of Fairfield. At five o'clock, coroner I. O. 
Nellis, of Herkimer, received a telephone despatch from Middleville, 
summoning him to that place at once, as a murder had been com- 
mitted in the village. The despatch also called for the attendance 
of district attorney A. B. Steele, but as that official was ill and un- 
able to go, he sent his law partner, William C. Prescott. Coroner 
Nellis, William C. Prescott, and A. T. Smith, the Utica Herald rep- 
resentative, drove to the scene of the tragedy, and on arrival found 
the town wild with excitement. Coroner Dr. A. J. Browne, of New- 
port, was on the ground and had already impanneled a jury. The 
prisoner was under arrest, in charge of deputy sheriff De Witt Jen- 
kins and constable Taber. The Doctor's statement of the facts lead- 
ing up to the affair, is as follows : 

Dr. Richter was born in the city of Bischoffswerter, Kingdom of 
Saxony, November 17th, 1825, and will be 60 years old next Novem- 
ber. He studied medicine and graduated from the University of 
Leipsic. Richter came to this country in 1854, and located at Mid- 
dleville, where he has since resided. He was naturalized September 
13th, 1859, and for 15 or 20 years had a large and lucrative practice 
in the northern part of the county. He was a skillful physician, and 
many of his patients had implicit confidence in his knowledge. He 
owned a small place, — one and one-third acres,— in the village, with 
a story and a half house, and a small office attached. The office was 
not keptaopen in the winter ; the doctor treating his patients in the 
house. Until 1876 he lived alone, taking his meals with a neighbor, 
Mrs. Laura Harter by name. In the above year he married Miss 
Eliza Ward, a daughter of the late Sidney D. Ward, who formerly 
resided on a farm in the town of Little Falls. The marriage took 
place without the consent or knowledge of Miss Ward's parents. 



HERKIMER COUiSTY MURDERS. 17 

When her father was informed of it, he was much surprised, and ex- 
claimed, "that he would as soon thought of being struck on the 
head with an ax as to hear of his daughter's marriage with Richter. 

The doctor and his wife lived happily together until about a 
year ago, then, according to the doctor's statement, after returning 
home from a few days absence, his wife acted strangely. One of the 
pupils of her eye was enlarged, and from this he thought her partial- 
ly insane. In February, 1884, he took her to her father's home, 
where she has since resided. She left with the doctor her clothing, 
jewelry, furs, etc. 

S. Clark Smith came to Middlexille on the 28th of February, with 
a bill of sale signed by Mrs. Richter, for $200, selling to Smith all her 
personal property. Smith applied to Dr. Hamlin, Justice of the 
Peace, for replevin papers, but not obtaining them, went to Newport, 
where the papers were procured. 

In company with Mr. Getman, his brother-in-law, Smith went 
to Richter's residence at 11 A. M. The Doctor's statement of what 
then took place is as follows : 

• " Smith came in with his brother-in-law ; I was glad to see them 
and asked them to take a chair ; Smith replied that he had come 
after my wife's clothing, and showed me a bill of sale ; I said, I will 
tell you what I will do, Clark ; I will send her trunk, in which are 
her clothes, rings and jewelry, her valuable mink furs, shoes and 
other articles of clothing, if you will take them and be satisfied, until 
I can see my wife ; or if she refuses to see me, until I can consult 
counsel. He said, very well, I suppose I shall have to. We went up 
stairs, and I tied up the boxes and he and I carried down the trunk, 
setting it in the front door, and from there it was taken out and put 
in the sleigh. 

A short time after a patient called, and while he was there 
Smith and Getman came back again, and Smith wanted to know if 
I would give up my wife's mortgage, which she held on the place. 
(Mrs. Richter held two mortgages on the place, amounting to $725.) 
I said, wait until I see my wife and have counsel. He went away, 
but came the third time, betweeen four and five p. m., in company 
with constable Charles Taber and his brother, John Taber. I ex- 
plained matters to the constable, and told Clark that I considered 
my wife partially insane, and not competent to transact business, 
and said, if you take anything else away, you do it at the risk of 
your lives. They showed me the bill of sale for $200. The goods 
were worth at least $600." 

Smith and officer Taber went up stairs and were followed by the 
Doctor. John Taber remained below. Smith pointed out a cham- 
ber set, which the officer was to take, and while standing with his 
back to the physician, Richter shot him in the back. Taber quick- 
ly turned, when the doctor followed with another shot, Smith hav- 
ing partially turned, the ball entered under the left arm. Smith 



48 HERKIMER COUA'TT MURDERS. 

staggered toward the head of the stairs, exclaimed " My Grod, I'm 
shot!" ran down stairs, staggered across the yard — a distance of 
twenty-five feet— and fell dead in the snow. 

Officer Taber, as soon as he heard the shot, advanced toward 
Richter, who, he says, pointed the pistol at him. He grasped him, 
but the doctor was the stronger of the two, and threw Taber on the 
bed. He called for help; John Taber came in, grasped Richter 
around the body, and wrenched the pistol from his hand. Richter 
was at once handcuffed and taken to Doctor Hamlin's office. The 
pistol with which the shooting was done is a small four-shooter, of 
the Elliott make, ring lock, carrying a 38 calibre ball. When 
taken from the doctor it had in it two empty and two loaded car- 
tridges. The post mortem examination, held by Dr. C. W. Hamlin, 
assisted by Coroner Nellis, of Herkimer, revealed the course of the 
bullets. The first shot entered through the fifth intercostal space, 
a short distance to the right of the spine. It was found in front, 
just under the skin, nearly opposite the place of entrance, and near 
the medium line of the sternum on the right. The bullet was found 
to have shattered the fifth rib, carrying fragments of bone into the 
right lung, and thence passing onward through the lung and interi- 
or walls of the chest to the skin. This wound alone would have 
caused death. The second bullet entered the left chest on its outer 
and anterior aspect, and passing into the chest through the third 
intercostal space, carried fragments of the bone into the left lung. 
The bullet then deflected downward, passing through the left lung, 
through the posterior part of the left auricle of the heart, and then 
through the right ventricle. The track of the bullet, as it emerged 
from the heart, was nearly on the same plane as the other shot as it 
passed through tne chest. The tissues at that point were very much 
lacerated. No point where the bullet left the body could be found. 
The chest was filled with blood on both sides, and apparently all 
the blood in the system had escaped into the plural sac. Both 
lungs were completely collapsed. This wound also would have caus- 
ed death. Smith, after receiving his wounds, had gone eighty-two 
feet before he fell. (This is a point for the doctors, and can be con- 
sidered remarkable, as the man was shot through the heart.) 

The Coroner's inquest was adjourned until the next day, and 
the prisoner in the mean time taken to the county jail at Herkimer, 
by officer Taber and Dewitt Jenkins, deputy sheriff. Middleville 
the next morning was crowded with teams, hundreds of people from 
the surrounding towns gathering around Parkhurst hall, where the 
inquest was held. The Doctor's abilities as a physician were abun- 
dantly recognized, and the qualities of the principals in the case 
freely commented upon. The fact that the Doctor had been educat- 
ed in Germany, was a sufficient guarantee of his ability, and he had 
accordingly worked up a large practice, which in late years he had 
largely lost, mostly on account of his eccentricities. He was very 



HERKIMER COUNTY MURDERS. 49 

fond of playing cards, checkers and chess, and when in the middle 
of a game would refuse to leave, no matter how urgent the call. In 
consequence he was considered unreliable, and his clients fell away 
from him. His life became embittered, and together with his domes- 
tic troubles culminated finally in the tragedy. 

The witnesses examined before the Coroner were Melvin Getman, 
Charles W. Taber, John Taber, Dr. C. W. Hamlin and Dr. I. 0. Nel- 
lis. The sum and substance of the testimony is already embraced 
in the foregoing account. 

After hearing the evidence, the jury retired, and shortly after- 
wards brought in the following verdict: "That S. Clark Smith 
came to his death from wounds received from a pistol or revolver in 
the hands of Moritz R. Richter, inflicted by him with the premedi- 
tated design of effecting the death of said S. Clark Smith, and that 
said killing, in the opinion of the ju^y, was murder in the first de- 
gree." 

District attorney A. B. Steele was present during the inquest, 
and assisted the coroner in the examination of witnesses. Since the 
inquest Dr. Richter has secured the legal services of Judge George W. 
Smith and J. A. Steele, of Herkimer. The property owned by Rich- 
ter has been sold at auction; that portion claimed by the wife being 
placed in her possession. The funeral of the murdered man took 
place at the Universalist church, Herkimer, March 4th, the Rev. 
Dr. G. W. Powell officiating. 

Dr. Richter, a day or two after his arrival in Herkimer, made 
the following statement: That much of the trouble has been 
brought about by his wife's relatives, and that scheming on their 
part brought on his wife's insanity. He claimed that he never had 
any difficulty with his wife, and that she has uniformly expressed 
her good will toward him, and that he never had said an unkind word 
to her. He last saw her last July at the time of the Huyck shooting 
at Eatonville. Her people would not allow him to visit her. He 
said that people at Middleville have sought to ruin his practice, and 
that he is isolated and alone in the world, and that his prosperity 
is blasted. He seemed to be in the depth of despair— no wife, his 
house mortgaged for all it was worth, and, by the bill of sale held 
by Smith, even that would have been stripped of everything with- 
in it that would make it comfortable. Referring to Smith, he de- 
clared that he did not like him, that he was obnoxious and disagree- 
able, that when he came to his house in the afternoon it made him 
frantic. He was very sorry that he had shot any one, but — what 
could he do ? When asked if it was so that he attempted to shoot 
officer Taber, he replied, " No, indeed, if I had shot any one it would 
have been myself." 

There is no question but what the murder was premeditated, 
but owing to the many circumstances connected with the sorrowful 
affair, I do not deem it advisable to publish comments. Let the law 
take its course. 

Fiat justitia ruat Caelum. 



COUNTY OFFICIALS, 

From 1791 to 1885. 



County Judges.— Ezra Graves, June, 1847, November, 1859 ; 
Robert Earl, 1855; Vo - fw«n. 1863; Amos H. Prescott, 1867; 
Rollin II. Smith, 1883. 

County Clerks. — Jonas Piatt, February 17, 1791 ; Joab 
Griswold, March 19, 1798; Elihu Griswold, April 6, 1804, and 
March 4, 1811 ; Peter M. Myers, February 28, 1810, and February 
23, 1813; Aaron Hackley, Jr., February 12, 1812. and February 
16, 1815; Walter Fish, April 16, 1817; John Malmn. February 13, 
1821; Jabez Fox, 1822; Abijah Beckwith, 1825; Julius C Nelson, 
1831; John Dygert, 1834; Erwin A. Munson, 1840; Standish Harry, 
1846 ; E'kanah T. Cleland, 1852 ; Cornelius T. E. Van Home. 1855; 
Zenas Greene, 1861; Douglass Bennett, 1867 and 1870: Edward 
Simms. 1873 and 1876; P. M. Wood, 1879 and 1882. 

Sheriffs. — William Colbraith, February 17, 1791, and Feb- 
ruary 9, 1796; Peter Smith, February 18, 1795; Chauncev Wood- 
ruff, March 19, 1798; William H Cook. March 17. 1802, and March 
5, 1807; Ephriam Snow, March 6, 1806; John Mahon, February 

22, 1808, March 4, 1811. and March 2. 1815; Phi'o M. Hackley, 
February 28, 1810; Henry Hopkins, February 23, 1813; Robert 
Shoemaker. February 13, 1817; Stephen Hallett, February 13, 
1821, and November, 1822; John Dyuert, 1825; John Graves, 
.1828; Frederick P. Bellinger, 1831; Francis E. Spinner, 1834; 
Stephen W. Brown, 1837; William C. Grain, 1840; Jeremiah Corey, 
1843; Willi»ui 1. Skinner, 1846; Daniel Hawn, 1849; Lorenzo 
Carry], 1852; Peter Countryman, 1855; James J. Cook, 1858; Seth 
M. Richmond, 1861; George M. cleland, 1864; James II. Weather- 
wrux, 1867; Alexander Smith, 1870; Volney Eaton, 1873; James H. 
Ives, 1876; D. C. Paine, 1879; Valentine Brown, 1882. 

District Attorneys —Thomas R. Gold, February 26, 1797; 
Nathan Williams, August 20, 1801; Joseph Kirkland, February 

23, 1813; Thomas H. Hubbard, February 26. 1816; Simeon Ford, 
June 11, 1818. and September, 1836; Michael Hoffman, May, 1823 
and March. 1836; (jeorge H. Feeter, 1825; Aaron Hackley, 1828; 
James B. Hunt, 1833; Dudley Burwell, 1836; Hiram Nolton, 1837; 
George B. Judd, June, 1847; Volney Owen, 1850; Lauren Ford, 
1856; George A. Hardin, January 28, 1858, and elected in the 
following November ; Clinton A. Moon, 1861; Sewell S. Morgan, 
1864; Charles G. Burrows, 1867; Albert M. Mills, 1870 and 1873; 
J. J. Dudleston, Jr., 1876; Abram B. Steele, 1879 and 1882. 

County Treasurers.*— Robert Ethridge, 1848 and 1866; 
Horatio N. Johnson, 1851; C. C. Witherstine, 1854; Allen W. 
Eaton, 1857; Floyd C. Shepard, 1863; Alphonso D. Marshall, 
1872; Albert Story, 1878; Caleb P. Miller, 1884. 



* County Treasurers were appointed by Boards of Supervisors 
before 1846, and held office for three years. 



11 communications must be addressed to W. H. Tifpetts, Man^i.. House, 
Herkimer, >i. Y. 

: . / /- 



Photographs of the Drrses and other prisoners, charged '"^Jich murder, can be 
puichtised of Hakky Browx and Sylveste 1 ! Wi^fo, Herkimer. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 107 661 9 




